SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- INSTRUMENTS FOR U.S. ILN LUNAR MISSIONS
- Notice Date
- 11/18/2008
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771
- ZIP Code
- 20771
- Solicitation Number
- NNH09ZDA005L
- Response Due
- 12/19/2008
- Archive Date
- 11/18/2009
- Point of Contact
- Dr. Thomas Morgan, Program Scientist, Phone 202-358-3725, Fax 202-358-3097, />
- E-Mail Address
-
thomas.h.morgan@nasa.gov<br
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)Instruments for U.S. ILN Lunar MissionsLunar Science Program, Science Mission Directorate, NASAFollowing 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. nodesthat will be a part of the International Lunar Network (ILN). As part of the preparationfor the ILN discussions, and in order to provide an initial basis for discussions withthe international community, NASA chartered an U.S. ILN Science Definition Team (SDT) toprovide analysis of potential high valued science objectives that could be realized witha lunar network. Based on the recommendations of the U.S. ILN SDT, NASA is soliciting information throughthis Request for Information (RFI) on the following types of instruments being consideredfor the ILN: seismometers, heat flow probes, electromagnetic probes, and laser ranginginstrumentation. However, as the Core Instruments Working Group (CIWG) of theinternational ILN is still identifying a core instrument set, other available lightweightinstrument types that could both provide complimentary data and make use of the uniquecapabilities of a lunar network will also be considered; information on such instrumentsis also solicited by this RFI. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), the information requested is for planning purposes onlyand is not intended to bind the Government. This information will be used to informNASAs program planning, including consideration of how to solicit instruments for theU.S. nodes of the ILN mission.BackgroundNASA has initiated multiple new lunar missions based on the Presidents Fiscal Year 2009budget request including both orbiters and landers. These missions are robotic lunarscience missions within the overall envelope of the U.S. Space Exploration Policy. ThisRFI is directed to one of these missions, a lunar lander network, the ILN, which willaddress elements of the 2007 National Research Council (NRC) Report, Scientific Contextfor the Exploration of the Moon, hereafter SCEM, in particular, objectives 2a and 2b onthe lunar interior. ILN is a strategic mission that will address these goals to theextent possible within the limitations imposed by mass, cost, and duration of theproposed mission. The main objective of the U.S. nodes of the ILN is to understand the interior structureand composition of the Moon, including:Determining the size, composition, and state (solid/liquid) of the core of theMoon;Characterizing the thermal state of the interior and elucidate the workings ofthe planetary heat engine;Characterizing the chemical/physical stratification in the mantle, particularlythe nature of the putative 500-km discontinuity and the composition of the lower mantle;andDetermining the thickness of the lunar crust (upper and lower) and characterizingits lateral variability on regional and global scales.However, the core instrument set of the International Lunar Network has not beenfinalized, and other science objectives, enabled by the final core instrument suiterecommended 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 the2012-2014 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 forsix years (the anchor nodes will necessarily have to last longer). It is anticipated thata very small amount of power will be available to enable continuous operation through thelunar night. Concept studies for the spacecraft are now under development at NASAs Marshall SpaceFlight Center working with the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) of The Johns HopkinsUniversity. The mission will be tightly constrained in both mass and power. It isexpected that the total available mass for all payload instruments will be approximately15 kg, although the precise mass available for the payload will depend on the launchvehicle and other trades still being considered. The total available payload power willbe 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 relativelymature instruments. The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) has issued this RFI to survey the communityfor instruments (or instrument packages) that can potentially provide data sets relevantto 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 flowprobes, electromagnetic probes, and laser ranging instrumentation, but other kinds ofinstruments are of interest if a case can be made that these instruments wouldsubstantially address one or more of the goals of the ILN mission, would make use of theunique capabilities of a lunar network, and can be accommodated within the tightmass/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.NASAs current plans are to use the information from this RFI in part to inform thedevelopment of an instrument procurement approach which is expected to be through anAnnouncement 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 beconsistent with NASA's no-exchange-of-funds policy where each nation is responsible forits own activities, any non-U.S. response should identify the source of funding anddiscuss the status of funding commitments. It is not NASAs intent to publicly disclose proprietary information obtained throughthis RFI. To the full extent that it is protected pursuant to the Freedom of InformationAct and other laws and regulations, information identified by a respondent asProprietary or Confidential will be kept confidential. Personnel from APL may beinvolved in activities related to this RFI. However any APL personnel with access toinformation provided to NASA in response to this RFI will be required to sign and toabide by a Nondisclosure Agreement.This RFI is for planning and information purposes only and is not to be construed as acommitment by the Government to enter into a contractual agreement, nor will theGovernment pay for information solicited. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If asolicitation is released, it will be synopsized in FedBizOps and on the NASA AcquisitionInternet Service. Requested InformationThe response to this RFI will be in the form of a PDF document that is uploaded throughNASAs NSPIRES system (see instructions below). The response should not exceed ten pagesin length.The response must contain the following information:Name of submitter and contact information (institutional affiliation, phonenumber, email address);Capabilities and qualifications statement that addresses the submitters abilityto provide an instrument (or instrument package) that falls within one or more of thefive categories listed above (seismometer, heat flow probe, electromagnetic probe, laserranging instrumentation, or an instrument that uses an alternative technology thataddresses one of the ILN objectives given in the background information above). In thelatter case (an alternative instrument technology), a concise and compelling case thatthe data obtained will adequately address one or more ILN objectives is required;A description of instrument (or instrument package) mass, volume, powerrequirement, data rate, and deployment requirements;A description of what the instrument (or instrument package) measures, themeasurement approach, and the ability of those measurements to address one or more of theobjectives 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 instrumentpackage) delivery; and A discussion of respondents past experience delivering similar instruments toNASA or other space flight missions;InstructionsAll responses submitted in response to this RFI must be submitted in electronic form viaNSPIRES, the NASA online announcement data management system, located athttp://nspires.nasaprs.com/. For this RFI, a response submission will take the formof a Notice of Intent (NOI) within the NSPIRES online announcement data managementsystem. 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 registrationinstructions at http://nspires.nasaprs.com (select Getting an account). Neitherinstitution registration nor an institution affiliation is required to respond to thisRFI.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 LunarMissions) 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 requestedinformation must be included in the attached PDF document. Information which is enteredinto 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 NSPIRESinstructions on.pdf formats). The response document must include the respondents Name,institution, phone number, and E-mail address so the file is self-contained. File namesformat should be PI Last Name - First Name - RFI. The response should not exceed tenpages 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 anytimebefore the submission deadline.Depending on the response, NASA is considering a workshop for responders to present anddiscuss their submissions both in an open forum and, potentially, in a confidentialsetting. Contact PointQuestions concerning this Request for Information should be addressed to Dr. ThomasMorgan, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, National Aeronautics andSpace Administration, Washington, DC 20546; Telephone: (202) 358-3725; E-mail:thomas.h.morgan@nasa.gov.
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