REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)
Instruments for U.S. ILN Lunar Missions
Lunar Science Program, Science Mission Directorate, NASA
Following the signing of the International Network Statement of Intent on July 24, 2008, NASA is seeking information regarding potential instruments to be flown on the U.S. nodes that will be a part of the International Lunar Network (ILN). As part of the preparation for the ILN discussions, and in order to provide an initial basis for discussions with the international community, NASA chartered an U.S. ILN Science Definition Team (SDT) to provide analysis of potential high valued science objectives that could be realized with a lunar network.
Based on the recommendations of the U.S. ILN SDT, NASA is soliciting information through this Request for Information (RFI) on the following types of instruments being considered for the ILN: seismometers, heat flow probes, electromagnetic probes, and laser ranging instrumentation. However, as the Core Instruments Working Group (CIWG) of the international ILN is still identifying a core instrument set, other available lightweight instrument types that could both provide complimentary data and make use of the unique capabilities of a lunar network will also be considered; information on such instruments is also solicited by this RFI.
In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), the information requested is for planning purposes only and is not intended to bind the Government. This information will be used to inform NASA’s program planning, including consideration of how to solicit instruments for the U.S. nodes of the ILN mission.
Background
NASA has initiated multiple new lunar missions based on the President’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget request including both orbiters and landers. These missions are robotic lunar science missions within the overall envelope of the U.S. Space Exploration Policy. This RFI is directed to one of these missions, a lunar lander network, the ILN, which will address elements of the 2007 National Research Council (NRC) Report, “Scientific Context for the Exploration of the Moon,” hereafter SCEM, in particular, objectives 2a and 2b on the lunar interior. ILN is a strategic mission that will address these goals to the extent possible within the limitations imposed by mass, cost, and duration of the proposed mission.
The main objective of the U.S. nodes of the ILN is to understand the interior structure and composition of the Moon, including:
• Determining the size, composition, and state (solid/liquid) of the core of the Moon;
• Characterizing the thermal state of the interior and elucidate the workings of the planetary heat engine;
• Characterizing the chemical/physical stratification in the mantle, particularly the nature of the putative 500-km discontinuity and the composition of the lower mantle; and
• Determining the thickness of the lunar crust (upper and lower) and characterizing its lateral variability on regional and global scales.
However, the core instrument set of the International Lunar Network has not been finalized, and other science objectives, enabled by the final core instrument suite recommended by the ILN CIWG, may ultimately be considered.
Description of Anticipated Requirement
NASA expects to emplace the first two nodes (the “anchor” nodes) of the ILN in the 2012-2014 timeframe with two additional nodes to be emplaced roughly two years later, depending on funds availability. All nodes will carry identical core instrument payloads. The ILN mission requires long lived instruments which can be operated as a network for six years (the anchor nodes will necessarily have to last longer). It is anticipated that a very small amount of power will be available to enable continuous operation through the lunar night.
Concept studies for the spacecraft are now under development at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center working with the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) of The Johns Hopkins University. The mission will be tightly constrained in both mass and power. It is expected that the total available mass for all payload instruments will be approximately 15 kg, although the precise mass available for the payload will depend on the launch vehicle and other trades still being considered. The total available payload power will be approximately 15 W.
The total budget for the ILN anchor nodes including development and operations is $200M. Schedule and budget constraints require that NASA mission planners focus on relatively mature instruments.
The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) has issued this RFI to survey the community for instruments (or instrument packages) that can potentially provide data sets relevant to the science objectives of the ILN mission. We are very interested in relatively mature (TRL level 4 or higher) instruments. The current focus is on seismometers, heat flow probes, electromagnetic probes, and laser ranging instrumentation, but other kinds of instruments are of interest if a case can be made that these instruments would substantially address one or more of the goals of the ILN mission, would make use of the unique capabilities of a lunar network, and can be accommodated within the tight mass/power/cost constrains of the mission. The RFI is not limited to single instruments, information on instrumentation packages of more than one instrument is requested as well.
NASA’s current plans are to use the information from this RFI in part to inform the development of an instrument procurement approach which is expected to be through an Announcement of Opportunity.
Responses from all interested parties, including non-U.S. organizations, are solicited. Recognizing that any collaboration between NASA and a non-U.S. organization must be consistent with NASA's no-exchange-of-funds policy where each nation is responsible for its own activities, any non-U.S. response should identify the source of funding and discuss the status of funding commitments.
It is not NASA’s intent to publicly disclose proprietary information obtained through this RFI. To the full extent that it is protected pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and other laws and regulations, information identified by a respondent as “Proprietary or Confidential” will be kept confidential. Personnel from APL may be involved in activities related to this RFI. However any APL personnel with access to information provided to NASA in response to this RFI will be required to sign and to abide by a Nondisclosure Agreement.
This RFI is for planning and information purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contractual agreement, nor will the Government pay for information solicited.
No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized in FedBizOps and on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service.
Requested Information
The response to this RFI will be in the form of a PDF document that is uploaded through NASA’s NSPIRES system (see instructions below). The response should not exceed ten pages in length.
The response must contain the following information:
• Name of submitter and contact information (institutional affiliation, phone number, email address);
• Capabilities and qualifications statement that addresses the submitter’s ability to provide an instrument (or instrument package) that falls within one or more of the five categories listed above (seismometer, heat flow probe, electromagnetic probe, laser ranging instrumentation, or an instrument that uses an alternative technology that addresses one of the ILN objectives given in the background information above). In the latter case (an alternative instrument technology), a concise and compelling case that the data obtained will adequately address one or more ILN objectives is required;
• A description of instrument (or instrument package) mass, volume, power requirement, data rate, and deployment requirements;
• A description of what the instrument (or instrument package) measures, the measurement approach, and the ability of those measurements to address one or more of the objectives of the ILN mission;
• A description of payload accommodation requirements;
• A description of the instrument flight heritage;
• A description of the anticipated cost and schedule for instrument (or instrument package) delivery; and
• A discussion of respondent’s past experience delivering similar instruments to NASA or other space flight missions;
Instructions
All responses submitted in response to this RFI must be submitted in electronic form via NSPIRES, the NASA online announcement data management system, located at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ . For this RFI, a response submission will take the form of a Notice of Intent (NOI) within the NSPIRES online announcement data management system. The RFI response itself will be a PDF-formatted document that is attached (uploaded) to the NSPIRES system.
You must be registered with NSPIRES to submit a RFI response. See registration instructions at http://nspires.nasaprs.com (select “Getting an account”). Neither institution registration nor an institution affiliation is required to respond to this RFI.
1. Log in to your account at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ .
2. Select “Proposals” from your account page.
3. Select “Create NOI” from your proposals page.
4. Click “Continue” on the next page.
5. Select “Request for Information: NNH09ZDA005L (Instruments for the U.S. ILN Lunar Missions)” from the bullet list of announcements. Click “Continue”.
6. Enter RFI response title (“NOI title” field will be shown).
7. Select “do not link at this time” for submitting organization page.
8. Click “Save” on next page.
9. It is not necessary to complete any of the “NOI Details”; all requested information must be included in the attached PDF document. Information which is entered into “NOI Details” but not included in the attached PDF document will not be considered.
10. Prepare your RFI response offline and save as a PDF document (note NSPIRES instructions on .pdf formats). The response document must include the respondent’s Name, institution, phone number, and E-mail address so the file is self-contained. File names format should be “PI Last Name - First Name - RFI”. The response should not exceed ten pages in length.
11. To attach (upload) your PDF document:
a. Click “add” under NOI attachments section;
b. Select “Proposal Document” from the drop down list;
c. Browse to attach your PDF file;
d. Select “Upload”;
e. Click “OK”;
f. Your RFI document has been uploaded to NSPIRES.
12. Click Submit NOI button.
Please note: You may delete and replace form fields and uploaded documents anytime before the submission deadline.
Depending on the response, NASA is considering a workshop for responders to present and discuss their submissions both in an open forum and, potentially, in a confidential setting.
Contact Point
Questions concerning this Request for Information should be addressed to Dr. Thomas Morgan, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC 20546; Telephone: (202) 358-3725; E-mail: thomas.h.morgan@nasa.gov.
