Science & progression
Grants & Contracts
Missions turn your observatory’s capacity into deadlines, rewards, and reputation. The Mission Board is organized as a searchable browser so a growing catalog does not become an endless scrolling panel.
How mission progress works
Use Available, Data Ready, Locked, type, level, science-category, search, and sorting controls to narrow the mission catalog.
Required technology, facilities, staff, reputation, datasets, or other prerequisites must be satisfied.
The current assignment is pinned above the browser and occupies the single active grant/contract slot.
Daily Research Output feeds mission progress; matching directives and qualifying evidence can accelerate or satisfy requirements.
Success awards cash, RP, and reputation; failure applies the mission-specific consequence and moves into Mission History.
Mission Board browser
The board shows a small page of mission cards at a time rather than rendering the entire catalog. Completed and failed work is kept in a collapsed Mission History section.
Missions you can currently accept after their normal unlock and eligibility checks.
Your current Data Archive contains enough qualifying dataset evidence for every dataset requirement on that mission.
The mission is visible but one or more prerequisites are not yet satisfied. Blocked-action feedback explains the missing requirement.
Dataset requirements use the same science-type badges as the Data Archive—for example ✦ Optical, ◉ Radio, or ☄ Moving Objects—so players can scan evidence needs quickly.
Current mission catalog
| Level | Type | Mission | Directive | Difficulty | Reward | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grant | First Light Infrastructure GrantRegional Science Foundation | Data Processing & AI | Easy | $120,000 · 80 RP · +5 Rep | 30 days |
| 1 | Contract | Weather Bar CommissioningCounty Emergency Services | Weather and Environmental Science | Easy | $90,000 · 40 RP · +4 Rep | 14 days |
| 1 | Grant | Solar Daytime Research PilotUniversity Solar Lab | Solar Astronomy | Easy | $110,000 · 75 RP · +5 Rep | 25 days |
| 1 | Contract | Public Moon NightLocal Education District | Public Outreach & Funding | Easy | $85,000 · 35 RP · +7 Rep | 20 days |
| 1 | Grant | Power Loss StudyRural Infrastructure Fund | Power and Infrastructure | Easy | $100,000 · 60 RP · +4 Rep | 20 days |
| 1 | Contract | Remote Hosting TrialSmall Telescope Network | Optical Astronomy | Medium | $140,000 · 70 RP · +6 Rep | 21 days |
| 1 | Grant | Lunar Mapping Seed GrantPlanetary Science Club | Lunar and Planetary Science | Easy | $95,000 · 65 RP · +5 Rep | 28 days |
| 1 | Contract | Maintenance Readiness AuditInsurance Underwriter | Observatory Operations | Easy | $80,000 · 40 RP · +4 Rep | 18 days |
| 2 | Contract | NEO Search WatchGovernment NEO Office | Asteroid, Comet, and NEO Tracking | Medium | $320,000 · 150 RP · +10 Rep | 30 days |
| 2 | Grant | AI-Assisted Data ReductionNational Computing Grant | Data Processing & AI | Medium | $260,000 · 180 RP · +8 Rep | 35 days |
| 2 | Contract | Next-Night Seeing Forecast BenchmarkRegional Observatory Network | Weather and Environmental Science | Medium | $240,000 · 120 RP · +8 Rep | 21 days |
| 2 | Grant | Transit Photometry PilotExoplanet Research Consortium | Exoplanet Research | Medium | $280,000 · 190 RP · +12 Rep | 40 days |
| 2 | Contract | Battery Backup ReadinessUtility Resilience Program | Power and Infrastructure | Medium | $270,000 · 110 RP · +7 Rep | 20 days |
| 2 | Grant | Education Partnership ProgramRegional Schools Alliance | Public Outreach & Funding | Medium | $230,000 · 130 RP · +15 Rep | 45 days |
| 2 | Contract | Solar Flare Alert DeskSpace Weather Service | Solar Astronomy | Medium | $300,000 · 150 RP · +10 Rep | 30 days |
| 2 | Grant | Radio Interference SurveyCommunications Research Fund | Radio Astronomy | Medium | $250,000 · 160 RP · +8 Rep | 30 days |
| 3 | Grant | Spectroscopy Instrument DevelopmentAstronomical Instrument Fund | Spectroscopy | Hard | $520,000 · 300 RP · +15 Rep | 50 days |
| 3 | Contract | Precision Exoplanet Follow-UpExoplanet Research Consortium | Exoplanet Research | Hard | $600,000 · 340 RP · +18 Rep | 45 days |
| 3 | Contract | Rapid NEO Orbit RefinementGovernment NEO Office | Asteroid, Comet, and NEO Tracking | Hard | $650,000 · 280 RP · +16 Rep | 10 days |
| 3 | Grant | Infrared Calibration LabInfrared Survey Foundation | Infrared Astronomy | Hard | $575,000 · 320 RP · +14 Rep | 60 days |
| 3 | Contract | Cloud-Gap Survey MarathonSurvey Data Cooperative | Data Processing & AI | Hard | $540,000 · 260 RP · +14 Rep | 35 days |
| 3 | Grant | Specialist Training FellowshipScience Workforce Board | Observatory Operations | Hard | $450,000 · 220 RP · +18 Rep | 45 days |
| 3 | Contract | Wind-Load Safe Shutdown CertificationInsurance Underwriter | Weather and Environmental Science | Hard | $500,000 · 230 RP · +14 Rep | 30 days |
| 3 | Grant | Galaxy Redshift Catalog Phase ICosmology Data Archive | Deep Space and Cosmology | Hard | $620,000 · 380 RP · +20 Rep | 70 days |
| 4 | Grant | Deep Field Legacy CampaignInternational Astronomy Foundation | Deep Space and Cosmology | Extreme | $1,500,000 · 900 RP · +35 Rep | 120 days |
| 4 | Contract | AI Anomaly Alert NetworkTransient Alert Network | Data Processing & AI | Extreme | $1,200,000 · 700 RP · +30 Rep | 45 days |
| 4 | Contract | Resilient Microgrid DemonstrationEnergy Resilience Agency | Power and Infrastructure | Extreme | $1,100,000 · 600 RP · +25 Rep | 50 days |
| 4 | Grant | Citizen Science NetworkPublic Science Foundation | Public Outreach & Funding | Extreme | $900,000 · 650 RP · +40 Rep | 90 days |
| 4 | Contract | Hydrogen Line / VLBI CampaignRadio Astronomy Consortium | Radio Astronomy | Extreme | $1,300,000 · 760 RP · +32 Rep | 75 days |
| 4 | Grant | Dark Matter Lens StudyCosmology Research Council | Deep Space and Cosmology | Extreme | $1,800,000 · 1000 RP · +45 Rep | 140 days |
| 4 | Contract | Autonomous Remote Operations CertificationInternational Remote Telescope Network | Observatory Operations | Extreme | $1,000,000 · 620 RP · +28 Rep | 35 days |
| 4 | Grant | Coronagraph Space Weather CampaignSpace Weather Service | Solar Astronomy | Extreme | $1,250,000 · 780 RP · +34 Rep | 85 days |