Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for Health and Life Science (HLS) Research on International Space Station (ISS) (ISS AO 2026)

3.1 Eligible Recipients

To be eligible under this AO, recipients for contributions must meet one (1) of the eligibility criteria as follows:

• Canadian post-secondary institutions, defined as a Canadian university or college (including CEGEPs in Quebec) that has provincial accreditation to grant degrees, diplomas, certificates, or other recognized qualifications.
• Not-for-profit organizations established and operating in Canada that have research included in their institutional mandate, and that have a standing Research Ethics Board (REB)/ Animal Care Committee (when required), or that delegate this responsibility to another institution's recognized board/committee.

3.2 Eligible Projects

Projects eligible for funding under this AO are those wherein eligible recipients submit projects for which a Canadian researcher is the Principal Investigator (PI) in a new research project. There is no limit on the number of proposals presented per investigator.

Projects must be original initiatives presented to the CSA. Projects submitted for funding to other space agency-led selection processes are not eligible under this AO. The PI must hold a traditionally recognized academic position such as professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or professor emeritus (post-doctoral fellows cannot be considered as PI). Individuals who are paid salary through someone else's research grant are not eligible as a PI.

Eligible projects are innovative space life science studies to be conducted on the ISS using research models such as cells, organoids, cell-free systems, microorganisms and model organisms (except rodents) to investigate space-related health risks identified in Table 1 in Section 3.3 or new countermeasures to these risks. However, the core of the proposed studies must focus on living systems. The study will use model systems proposed by the PI and handled by equipment from a third-party provider. The list of potential third-party providers can be found in Appendix 1. It is expected that the PI will contact one of these providers to obtain a quote for their services and include this cost in the proposal budget. The availability of these facilities will need to be confirmed before the project can be funded as demonstrated with a letter of intent or launch service agreement from the third-party provider to the PI. The agreement should include the rough order of magnitude (ROM) costs and a list of milestones leading to launch. Any costs associated with the letter of intent or launch service agreement are not reimbursable, if incurred prior to signing a contribution agreement with the CSA.

All development phases necessary for a project are eligible for funding. Any logical breakdown or combination of these phases can constitute a funded project under this AO. However, breaking down a project into numerous phases submitted as distinct proposals to obtain more than the maximum contribution under this AO is not allowed. Furthermore, the completion of a funded phase does not automatically guarantee funding of the remaining phases. Details of eligible costs of the projects financed under this AO are listed in Section 6.2. Selected recipients will be required to sign a collaboration agreement with the CSA.

3.3 Links with CSA priorities

To be eligible, projects supported under this AO must contribute to at least one (1) of the following CSA priorities (as stated in the Space Strategy for Canada and the 2025-26 CSA Departmental Plan):

• Space information and technologies improve the lives of Canadians.
• Improving remote medicine and health care: keeping astronauts healthy in deep space has many direct applications in health care today.

In accordance to its mandate, the activities selected must generate new knowledge and insight into the risks of human space flight to keep astronauts healthy in space (Space Strategy for Canada, 2019). Health risks targeted by CSA and associated with human space flights (i.e., future long-duration human spaceflight missions) are listed in Table 1.

In addition to fundamental research on health risks of spaceflight, the CSA encourages proposals aiming to develop and test countermeasures to mitigate these risks. Furthermore, the following specific needs for health and medical support of spaceflight crews are relevant to this AO:

• Additional methods to monitor disorders related to sleep and fatigue.
• Approaches to better predict physiological changes in space with an impact on health or performance.
• Interaction of nutritional and energy status and physiological systems.
• Non-pharmacological approaches to musculoskeletal pain and injury management.
• Research into non-cancer and cancer health risks due to space radiation exposure.
• Research on/development of individualized radiation protection measures based on individual radiation sensitivities.

In addition to the risks listed in Table 1, the CSA will also evaluate if the proposal would contribute to advancing the understanding of similar health issues on Earth, could contribute to improving health and health care for all Canadians, or translate to applications on Earth, with specific emphasis on scientific advances that directly impact the delivery of health care to remote and isolated communities in Canada.

3.4 Links to the Class Grants and Contributions Program Objectives

To be eligible, projects supported under this AO must contribute to the achievement of at least one (1) of the following objectives:

• To support the development of science and technology relevant to the priorities of the CSA.
• To foster the continuing development of a critical mass of researchers and HQPs in Canada in areas relevant to the priorities of the CSA.
• To support information gathering, studies and research related to space.

4.1 Required Documentation

A structure for the detailed project description is included in Appendix 2. Applicants are strongly encouraged to follow this structure.

Applicants are required to submit a full proposal prepared in English or in French, which shall include:

• A completed original application form (Word, 105 KB) signed by the duly authorized representative and the PI of the proposed project as stipulated in section 3.2;
• A copy of the document(s) confirming the legal name of the applicant (must be confirmed by the organization's Office of Research);
• Letters from other funding contributors confirming their contributions, if applicable;
• Declaration on Confidentiality, Access to Information Act and Privacy Act form signed by the duly authorized representative (refer to the Applicant Declaration on Confidentiality, Access to Information Act and Privacy Act section included in the application form); and
• For organizations in Quebec, M-30 Supporting Documentation form completed and signed by the duly authorized representative (refer to the M-30 form for organizations in Quebec included in the application form).
• For not-for-profit organizations, an original or certified copy of their certificate of constitution, letters patent, or other constitutive documents. Non-original or uncertified copies are accepted for the purposes of the application, but the original documents will be required at the time of the signing of the agreement.
• For Canadian Co-Is involved in an international study, a letter from the international PI is required, confirming that the proposed work by the Canadian Co-I will enhance the study;
• Letter of support from Co-Is confirming their intent to participate to the study, including information on the potential source of funds, if applicable;
• The applicant will ensure that ethical certification requirements are met throughout the study. A letter signed by the chairperson of the local Research Ethics Board (REB) regarding approval of the experimental protocol will be required to that effect or Animal Care Committee (when required). Ethics approval letters for any subsequent protocol amendments and renewal letters must also be forwarded to the CSA;
• A Data Management Plan shall be provided with the proposal that addresses:
  • Type(s) of data products;
  • Short-term data preservation approach;
  • Long-term data preservation/archiving approach;
  • Format(s) for data and metadata;
  • Sharing and reuse of the data, when applicable;
  • Roles and responsibilities for data management within the team.

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the application complies with all relevant Canadian legislation and bylaws (federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal).

The electronically uploaded application must be prepared as a single searchable PDF-formatted file (PDF/A-1a or PDF/A-2a formats preferred) containing all the above requested documents with all security features disabled. You are required to order the document with the application form and proposal first. If there are any accessibility issues with the submitted PDF file, all consequences will reside with the applicant.

The applicant must keep one hard copy of all the original documents above. The CSA may require applicants who successfully passed the evaluation stage described in Section 5 of the AO to send a hard copy of their complete application with the original documents.

Process for electronic submission:

• The applicant must complete an account creation request at the Electronic Proposal Portal. Upon receipt, the CSA will send an email with instructions on how to connect to the CSA secure file system to allow you to upload documents securely. Note that Chrome is the browser of choice for submissions. Supported browsers are Google Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer with some restrictions.
• Allow up to 72 hours for the CSA to send an email confirming the account creation as well as instructions (user guide) on how to access the platform. It is strongly recommended that the account creation request be submitted no later than July 15, 2026. If technical issues cannot be resolved, applicants must submit their application by mail. Applicants are strongly encouraged to upload their complete application well before the submission deadline.
• Using the temporary password assigned by the CSA, login to the secured portal to upload protected documents;
• Refer to the user guide for instructions on how to securely upload documents.
• Applications must be submitted (successfully uploaded) by applicants no later than 2:00 PM (EDT), July 24, 2026;
• Incomplete or late applications shall not be considered. A late application has an electronic timestamp on the CSA system after the deadline above.

Process for application sent by mail:

The applicant is encouraged to submit their application electronically following the instructions provided in Section 4.1 of the AO. However, if the applicant is unable to submit their application electronically, please communicate with santespatiale-spacehealth@asc-csa.gc.ca no later than July 10, 2026 2:00 PM (EDT) to obtain instructions on how to submit a paper application by mail.

For application sent by mail, one (1) original paper copy of the full proposal, with a completed original application form (Word, 105 KB) signed by the duly authorized representative is required. In addition, one (1) copy of the application (identical to the signed paper copy) in a PDF file (on a USB flash drive) is required. If there is any discrepancy between the hard and the soft version, the hard copy takes precedence.

Applications by mail must be received at the CSA no later than July 24, 2026 at 2:00 PM (EDT). Applications sent by email will not be accepted. Incomplete applications may not be considered. The CSA is not responsible for any delays under any circumstances and will refuse applications that are received after the stipulated deadline.

Questions and answers related to this AO will be posted on the CSA website in the Frequently Asked Questions (Section 9).

Important information:

• Proposals must be received at the CSA no later than July 24, 2026 at 2:00 PM (EDT).
• Applications sent by email will not be accepted.
• Incomplete applications may not be considered.

Questions and answers related to this AO will be posted on the CSA website in the Frequently Asked Questions (Section 9).

4.2 Service Standards – Complete Applications

Applicants will be notified in writing of decisions regarding their application. Selected applications will be announced on the CSA website. The CSA has set the following service standards for processing times, acknowledgement of receipt, funding decisions and payment procedures.

Acknowledgement: The CSA's goal is to acknowledge receipt of proposals within two (2) weeks of receiving the completed application package.

Decision: The CSA's goal is to respond to the proposal within 46 weeks of the AO's closing date and to send a contribution agreement for signature within 18 weeks after formal approval of the proposal.

Payment: The CSA's goal is to issue payment within six (6) weeks of the successful fulfillment of the requirements outlined in the contribution agreement.

Compliance with these service standards is a shared responsibility. Applicants must submit all required documentation in a timely fashion. Service standards may vary by Announcement of Opportunity.

5.1 Evaluation Process

Applications will first be evaluated for eligibility. Only applications that have passed the eligibility assessment described in (Section 5.2) will be given further consideration.

Once the eligibility is confirmed, full proposals will then undergo a programmatic evaluation (Section 5.3) based on criteria such as benefits to Canada, project feasibility, resources, results and impacts as well as risk and risk mitigation measures. This step will be followed by a scientific merit review based on the peer-review criteria (Section 5.4). The scientific merit review will be conducted by a panel of scientific or technical experts. The number and diversity of experts required will be determined by the response to this research announcement and by the variety of disciplines represented in the proposals. The scientific merit review panel will assign a score from 0 to 100 or a designation of "not recommended for further consideration" based upon the intrinsic scientific merit of the proposal. Before a final decision is made, the CSA's Program Manager responsible for this AO may seek input and advice from other organizations, including (but not limited to) federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal government agencies and organizations. This score will reflect the consensus of the panel. Proposals that receive a score in the scientific merit review that is lower than 70/100 will not be further evaluated.

The final score for each proposal will be based on the score for program alignment (50%) and science merit (50%). Funding agreements will be offered to the applicants in the rank order based on the final score of the proposals while allowing considerations to maximize the use of available funding. The number of projects funded under this AO will depend on funding and resource availability.

5.2 Eligibility assessment

Eligibility of proposals will be based on these aspects:

• Represents an eligible recipient as defined in Section 3.1;
• Represents an eligible project as defined in Sections 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4;
• Meet program funding provisions in section 6 Funding.

An evaluation committee will screen applications according to the eligibility criteria described in Table 4 in Appendix 3.

5.3 Programmatic evaluation

Submissions will be evaluated using the graded criteria listed in Table 2. A detailed description of these criteria can be found in Appendix 4.

5.4 Scientific Merit evaluation

The eligible projects will then undergo a scientific merit peer-review that will be conducted based on the criteria in Table 3. To be considered eligible for funding, the total score obtained for these graded criteria must be at least 70/100.

The scientific merit review will be conducted by a panel of scientific experts according to the language ladder listed in Table 3; a detailed description of each criterion can be found in Appendix 5. For any given criterion, a score within the associated range will be assigned by each reviewer. The scientific merit review panel will assign a score from 0 to 100 or a designation "not recommended for further consideration" based on the intrinsic scientific merit of the proposal. Passing proposals must receive at least a minimal score for each criterion and obtain a total score of at least 70, which is higher than the sum of all the minimal scores. The peer-review panel will also provide comments to the CSA on the proposed budget.

6.1 Available Funding and Duration

The maximum funding amount given in contribution for each project will be $900,000 for new Canadian projects over a maximum period of three (3) fiscal years.

The number of projects funded under this AO will depend on funding availability.

To determine the amount of funding to be allocated, consideration will be given to the availability of CSA funds, the total cost of the project, and the other confirmed sources of funds provided by other stakeholders and the applicant. The CSA reserves the right to reject any proposals or reduce the amount of the contributions at its entire discretion.

6.2 Eligible Costs

Eligible costs are costs that are essential to carry out the Project, reasonable and directly related to the Project to achieve the expected results of the Project. The costs are to be incurred directly by the applicant. Incurred Costs means any expense made to carry out the Project related to an Eligible Cost which is due and payable. CSA will not contribute to costs Incurred prior to the coming into force of a Funding Agreement and after the Project Completion Date.

Note that for this AO, the proposal cannot include as eligible any costs related to non-Canadian-based Co-Is or non-Canadian-based PIs or their work within the proposal. These costs should be submitted to the appropriate national agency for funding.

The eligible costs for contributions under this AO are the following:

• Access fees;
• Accommodation and meals allowances;
• Bursaries fees;
• Consultant services fees;
• Cost of laboratory analyses services;
• Costs related to acquisition, development and printing of materials;
• Costs related to acquisition or rental of equipment;
• Costs related to obtaining security clearance;
• Costs related to publishing and communication services;
• Costs related to training;
• Data acquisition fees;
• Data management fees;
• Launcher services fees;
• Licenses and permits fees;
• Material and supplies fees;
• Overhead (administrative) costs (not to exceed 20% of eligible costs for Canadian universities and 15% for other eligible recipients);
• Participation fees at conferences, committees and events;
• PST, HST and GST net of any rebate to which the recipient is entitled to and the reimbursement of any taxes for goods and services acquired in a foreign country net of any rebate or reimbursement received in the foreign country;
• Registration Fees;
• Salaries and benefits;
• Translation services; and
• Travel.

Under no circumstances can the total amount of assistance from governmental sources (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal) to the recipient exceed 100% of the total project cost.

Applicants must identify all sources of funding in their applications and confirm this information in a funding agreement if the project is selected for funding. Upon completion of a project, the recipient must also disclose all sources of funding.

7.1 Agreement

Upon favourable review of the applications, CSA will send a Contribution agreement to the successful applicant. The Contribution agreement will outline the rights, roles, and obligations of each respective party. In the event of any discrepancies between this AO and a Contribution agreement between CSA and the recipient, the latter document will take precedence.

For greater clarity, no liability and no commitment or obligation exist on the part of the CSA to issue a Contribution payment to the applicant until a Contribution agreement is signed by both parties. Furthermore, any costs or expenses incurred or paid by the recipient prior to the execution of a written Contribution agreement by both parties are the sole responsibility of the applicant, and no liability exists on the part of the CSA.

7.2 Payments

The CSA and each of the successful applicants (the recipients) will sign a funding agreement which is a condition for any payment made by the CSA with respect to the approved project.

Payments for contribution agreements will be made in accordance with the process and the reporting requirements described in the signed funding agreement. Upon notice of a successful application, the CSA will have no liability until a funding agreement is signed by both parties. Only eligible costs incurred after the funding agreement is signed and indicated in the agreement will be reimbursed.

7.3 Audit

The recipient of a funding agreement shall keep proper records of all documentation related to the funded project, for the duration of the project and for six (6) years after the completion date of the project, in the event of an audit. This documentation shall be available upon request.

7.4 Intellectual Property

All intellectual property developed by the recipient in the course of the project shall vest in the recipient. The recipient will undertake to protect all intellectual property he will possess, acquire or develop during the project.

7.5 Organizations in Quebec

7.6 Organizations in Alberta

An organization located in Alberta may be subject to the Provincial Priorities Act (Chapter P-35.5) (the Act) and its Provincial Priorities Regulation (Alberta Regulation 21/2025) (the Regulation).

As per section 2 of the Act, provincial entities listed in the Act and Regulations must obtain prior approval from the Government of Alberta in accordance with the process set out in the Act and in the Regulation before entering into an agreement with the Government of Canada.

Therefore, any entity that falls under the application of the Act or the Regulation must obtain such authorization prior to entering into an agreement with the Canadian Space Agency.

Applicants having activities in Alberta must complete Section 8C of the application form.

7.7 Performance Measurement

The CSA will ask the recipients to report on various performance measurement indicators throughout the execution of the project.

Examples include but are not limited to:

• Space research and development advances sciences, technologies, applications and expertise- Number of highly qualified personnel involved in projects funded by CSA.
• Science excellence - Number of scientific peer-reviewed publications acknowledging CSA funding.

• Knowledge Creation
  • Knowledge production (including publications)
  • Presentations
  • Intellectual property (including patents)
• Capacity Building
  • Project's research team (including HQPs supported)
• Collaboration
  • Partners' contributions
  • Partnerships
  • Multidisciplinarity

As a courtesy, the CSA would like to receive a copy of publications arising from the work, and to be informed in advance of significant press releases or media interest resulting from the work.

7.8 Open Access Publications

If publications result from the project, the CSA wishes to promote the dissemination of findings that results from the projects it funds as quickly and to the greatest number of people as possible. Improved access to scientific results not only allows scientists to use a broader range of resources and knowledge, but also improves research collaboration and coordination, strengthens citizen engagement and supports the economy.

Thus, the CSA promotes the use of open access publication and archiving by recipients in order to facilitate the widest dissemination of findings that results from its funded projects. Thus, recipients are invited to publish, in a timely matter, their articles by using one of the following methods:

1. Accessible online repository (institutional or disciplinary) so that the publication is freely accessible.
2. Journal offering open access to articles.

It should be noted that these two methods are not mutually exclusive and that recipients are encouraged to use both.

Finally, the CSA wishes to receive, as a courtesy, a copy of the publications (if not freely accessible) or the hyperlink (if freely accessible) and its digital object identifier (DOI). These will be used to improve accessibility by including them in the CSA publications directory.

1.1 Links with the priorities of the CSA and its Space Health & Life Sciences Program

Description: This criterion evaluates whether the proposed research objectives are aligned with the priorities of the CSA and its HLS program. Do the research objectives directly address health risks associated with human space flights or needs for health and medical support (CSA priorities in section 3.3)?

Minimum score required = 15

1.2 Benefits on Earth

Description: This criterion evaluates whether the proposal demonstrates that the proposed research may contribute to the advancement of understanding of similar health issues or applications on Earth, or that could contribute to improving health care for Canadians. Provide a clear explanation of how specifically this research can bring benefits on Earth (i.e., which specific population, how it will benefit that population, etc.).

Minimum score required = 10

1.3 HQP development

Description: This criterion evaluates how the project will foster the development of HQPs, through recruitment of qualified students/postdoctoral fellows/trainees and provide them with an integrated and meaningful role in the project research team. The proposal must include a clear description of both the role and responsibilities of students/HQPs, and a plan for their development.

Minimum score required = 1

1.4 Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI)

Description: The research project must meaningfully engage members of underrepresented groups within the research team as students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and partners. Underrepresented groups include, but are not limited to, the four (4) designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, members of visible minorities, and persons with disabilities). Applicants can consult the Employment equity website for definitions of each group.

This criterion evaluates whether the proposal describes the specific means that will be taken to foster recruitment and engagement of members from these underrepresented groups within the research team.

It also evaluates the different outreach activities proposed by investigators or the research team aiming the engagement and inclusion of underrepresented groups, inside or outside of the research laboratories or universities/institutions (e.g.: participation to committees and boards, conferences/colloquiums, workshops, and public dialogues).

• Note that journal club or lab meetings are not considered outreach activities with members of the underrepresented groups.
• Referencing the university policy is not considered a sufficient demonstration.

Minimum score required = 1

2. Project Feasibility, Resources, and Risk Assessment

3. Science dissemination plan

Description: This criterion evaluates the science dissemination plan describing how results from the investigations will be disseminated (i.e., conferences, publications, etc.). Per Section 7.7, applicants are encouraged to use open access publications and archiving to facilitate dissemination of results from the investigation.

Minimum score required = 1

Science quality

Research approach

Research team