A--TEAMING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE ASTROBIOLOGY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT NASA RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT (NRA-03-OSS-01-ASTID)

NASA Langley Research Center is seeking University and Industry partners for the Astrobiology Science and Technology Instrument Development NASA Research Announcement (NRA) (see http://research.hq.nasa.gov/code_s/nra/current/nra-03-oss-01-astid/index.ht ml). Synopsis: The Astrobiology Science and Technology Instrument Development (ASTID) Program requests proposals to develop instrumentation capabilities that will help meet Astrobiology science requirements on future space flight missions, as well as unique Astrobiology science objectives on Earth. Selected activities are expected to advance the development of scientific instruments or instrument components to the point where the instruments could be credibly proposed in response to future flight opportunity announcements, although proposals to build flight-qualified hardware are not a part of this program element. In addition, the development of laboratory instruments designed to open a new area of study for Astrobiology will also be considered. In addition, this program element also solicits proposals for Astrobiology mission concepts that may help increase the pool of ideas that may be considered for mission planning, as well as take advantage of mission opportunities such as that offered by NASA's Discovery (http://discovery.nasa.gov/), Explorer (http://fpd.gsfc.nasa.gov/410/index.html), and New Frontiers Programs (http://centauri.larc.nasa.gov/newfrontiers/). For additional information on the scientific goals and objectives of NASA's Astrobiology program refer to the Astrobiology Roadmap, which is available on the Astrobiology web site at http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/roadmap. NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) is seeking partners from other government agencies, industry, academia, and Federal Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC's) to participate with NASA LaRC Principal Investigators (PI) in the ASTID Program to develop proposals and assist with instrument definition and development. Subject to the availability of funds, selected proposal(s) would result in contract(s) for the selected partner(s). This partnering opportunity does not guarantee selection for award of any contracts, nor is it to be construed as a commitment by NASA to pay for the information solicited. It is expected that the partner(s) selected would provide (at no cost to NASA) conceptual designs, technical data, proposal input, project schedules and cost estimates consistent with the requirements of the NRA. Potential partners must demonstrate the capabilities and experience to provide instrument definition and development consistent with the specific technology area defined below in the last section of this synopsis. Partners must work collaboratively with NASA and other potential industry and academic partners to perform the required tasks. Partner selection(s) will be made by LaRC based on the following criteria in the following order of importance: (1) Relevant experience, past performance, technical capability and availability of key personnel This criterion evaluates the proposers' relevant recent experience, past performance in similar development activities, technical capability to perform the development and key personnel available to support the development. Substantive evidence (points of contact and telephone numbers) of successful participation in similar developments should be included. (2) Cost and schedule control This criterion evaluates the proposers' ability to control both cost and schedule. The proposer should provide evidence of successfully controlling cost and schedule for similar development programs and provide evidence of management processes in this area. (3) Facilities This criterion evaluates the proposers' facilities (development, testing, and analyses) to conduct the development or demonstration of the proposed task. The proposer should discuss facility availability, access, and the ability to meet the proposed objectives. Responses should be limited to 5 pages (12 point font) and address each of the three (3) criteria defined above. All responses should be sent to: NASA Langley Research Center, Attn: Rosemary R. Baize, Mail Stop 469 Building 1208A, Room 106, Hampton, VA 23681. The preferred method of submission is via email to: contact@example.gov. The due date for submission is COB, September 3, 2003. Procurement questions should be directed to Tom Weih, NASA LaRC Procurement Office, +1 (555) 000-0000, contact@example.gov. The following LaRC technology proposals are seeking partnerships. (1) Energy Dispersive Detectors for use in X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometers, Technical Point of Contact: Warren C. Kelliher, +1 (555) 000-0000, contact@example.gov NASA Langley Research Center is actively developing X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometers (XRFS) for use on future Planetary and Space Exploratory missions to provide elemental analysis of various regolith surfaces. Based on previous experience with the XRFS used on the Viking Mission to Mars, Langley is developing state-of-the-art XRFS components to be used in different instrument configurations for in-situ analysis, remote surface analysis, and subsurface analysis. We are also interested in further development of micro and total reflection XRFS technologies for space applications. For this specific proposal, Langley is interested in developing new energy dispersive detectors for use in XRFS that are not sensitive to the visible light spectrum, yet still have reasonable sensitivity to the low fluorescence energies of the biogenic elements, such as Carbon, Nitrogen, and Oxygen. NASA LaRC is also particularly interested in the radiation resistant, wide bandgap, semiconductor single crystals such as Diamond and Silicon Carbide. Langley is interested in partners with the capability of growing and doping these crystals and assisting in the evaluation of their use as an energy dispersive detector.