SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- Lunar Surface Transportation Capability Request for Information (RFI)
- Notice Date
- 3/16/2018
- Notice Type
- Synopsis
- NAICS
- 5417
— Scientific Research and Development ServicesT
- Contracting Office
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code 210.H Greenbelt MD 20771
- ZIP Code
- 20771
- Solicitation Number
- NNH18-AES-LSTC-RFI
- Response Due
- 4/30/2018
- Point of Contact
- Victoria P. Friedensen, Program Executive, Advanced Exploration Systems Division, Phone 202-358-1916
- E-Mail Address
-
HQ-LunarLanderRFI@mail.nasa.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- 1. SUMMARY The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is seeking information under this Request for Information (RFI) to assess commercial interest in development of domestic lunar lander capabilities that would evolve to meeting the identified performance towards human-class landers. These progressively larger lander capabilities are complementary to NASA's new Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) effort to award contracts to provide capabilities as soon as 2019. NASA has multiple new and linked activities proposed under the President's Budget Request for 2019 that mandates a robust return to the Moon. These efforts will establish U.S. leadership for missions to, around, and on the Moon. NASA is planning to develop a series of increasingly complex and capable lunar missions to the surface of the Moon, starting first with robotic missions. This new initiative will be undertaken in coordination with scientific lunar exploration, and will run in parallel to the development and flight of the Space Launch Systems (SLS), Orion, and the elements of the Lunar Orbital Platform - Gateway. This will be a collaborative effort between NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD), Science Mission Directorate (SMD), and Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). NASA has been fostering the growth of commercial lunar lander capabilities through the Lunar CATALYST public private partnership efforts. Under these competitively-awarded agreements NASA has provided assistance to private entities through the application of NASA Subject Matter Expertise (SME), unique facilities, software, and the loan of government equipment. NASA is now beginning conceptual development of a human class lander. NASA envisions using a series of medium-to-large landers with payloads in the 500-5000 kg range to assist in requirements development and establish an approach to a human-class lander in the next decade. Responses to this Request for Information (RFI) are sought broadly from U.S. industry, universities, non-profit organizations, and other U.S. government agencies, and these will be used by NASA to inform planning and acquisition strategy development. 2. BACKGROUND The President's Space Policy Directive-1 instructs NASA to "Lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities." NASA is trying to better determine the state-of-art and maturity of lander capability in the private sector and mature its own requirements for a human-class lander. NASA has therefore identified a variety of exploration, science, and technology demonstration objectives that can be addressed by sending instruments, experiments, or other payloads to the lunar surface. These progressively larger lander capabilities are complementary to NASA's new Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) effort to award contracts to provide capabilities as soon as 2019. The early missions under CLPS will support innovative approaches to achieve human and robotic science/exploration goals by funding contracts for commercial transportation services. CLPS will also support delivery of small rovers and instruments to meet lunar science and exploration needs. NASA plans to release a Request for Proposals for CLPS in mid-2018 that is expected to fund payload opportunities on near-term commercial lunar landing opportunities. To enable the development of robust lander capabilities and better understand technical requirements leading to eventual human-scale capabilities, NASA is seeking information from U.S. entities on how to approach capabilities development, including requirements, with the near-term goal of a first mission to the lunar surface as early as Fiscal Year 2022. NASA anticipates that the initial capability of this evolutionary path is for landers capable of landing around 500kg of payload mass to the lunar surface. Such landers could support initial commercial and government activities covering lunar science, technology and human exploration objectives. These medium-scale landers (500kg payload) will also provide critical risk reduction and technology requirements maturation for a human-scale lander descent stage (5,000-6,000 kg payload) as well as utilization capabilities. NOTE: THIS NOTICE WAS NOT POSTED TO FEDBIZOPPS ON THE DATE INDICATED IN THE NOTICE ITSELF (16-MAR-2018); HOWEVER, IT DID APPEAR IN THE FEDBIZOPPS FTP FEED ON THIS DATE. PLEASE CONTACT 877-472-3779 or fbo.support@gsa.gov REGARDING THIS ISSUE.
- Web Link
-
Link To Document
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/f9ab19e797b4be15cb250816cbcee959)
- Record
- SN04857506-F 20180318/180316230946 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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