The procurement filing doesn’t disclose when NASA expects to release the final version of the solicitation. ![]() The total funding available for the program is listed only as “TBD” or “to be determined.” NASA says that the values of awards for this program “are estimated be to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” although it wasn’t clear what phases of development - initial studies only or also development of landers - that included. NASA also doesn’t plan to take ownership of the lander or landers it ultimately procures, in line with past statements by agency leaders that it is interesting in acquiring services rather than buying hardware.Īccording to the solicitation, NASA plans to select up to two companies to develop the initial landers for the 2024 mission, likely from a larger group awarded 12-month study contracts. NASA plans to pursue development of the integrated landers through a public-private partnership approach, which the agency says in the draft solicitation is “part of creating a sustainable lunar exploration program.” Companies that ultimately submit proposals have to demonstrate they are contributing at least 10 percent of the total cost of lander development. It would also be at least partially reusable, a requirement not levied on the initial design for the 2024 mission. ![]() That enhanced lander would include the ability for longer stays on the lunar surface, including through the two-week lunar night, as well as hosting four astronauts and additional cargo. ![]() Two astronauts would board the lander to go to the south polar regions of the moon, while the other two astronauts would remain on the Gateway.Īn option in the NextSTEP award would allow the company to develop an enhanced version of the lander for later missions, starting with a demonstration mission in 2026. NASA envisions the lander flown first to the Gateway on one or more commercial launch vehicles, depending on the configuration the company developing the lander selects for it. That lander would be used as part of the Artemis 3 mission, the second crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft. The first phase will support development of an initial, basic lander design for a “demonstration mission” in 2024, capable of carrying two astronauts to the lunar surface, staying there for six and a half days before returning to the lunar Gateway, which NASA has said will serve as the staging point for lunar lander missions. NASA’s plan, as described in the solicitation and supporting documents, calls for a two-phase approach for lunar landers. The draft solicitation offers some new details on NASA’s approach to developing landers capable of carrying humans to the surface of the moon and back, and do so in time to meet the 2024 established by the White House earlier this year and reaffirmed by Vice President Mike Pence in a July 20 speech marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing. The notice included a draft version of a broad agency announcement, with NASA requesting industry comments on it by Aug. NASA released July 19 a presolicitation notice for its Human Landing System Integrated Lander effort, part of the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) program. WASHINGTON - As NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first crewed landing on the moon, the agency released new details about how it will procure landers to enable humans to return to the moon in the 2020s.
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