Stand-Alone Landing Site-Agnostic (SALSA)

This proposal opportunity is in response to the NASA Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES) 2023 opportunity Stand-Alone Landing Site-Agnostic (SALSA) Payloads, expected to be released prior to February 14, 2024. The ROSES program solicits basic and applied research in Earth Science, Heliophysics, Astrophysics and Planetary Science, in support of NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD). The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is seeking a hardware developer with experience in the design and fabrication of small rovers that can carry payloads conducting lunar surface science operations. The instruments and rover will be deposited on the lunar surface by a Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) lander for a 10-12 Earth Day science campaign ending at lunar night. SALSA instruments are not intended to survive the lunar night. The SALSA opportunity will be a single step process, with the winner selected after a formal technical and programmatic peer review. The selected mission will be managed under NPR7120.8 A NASA Research and Technology Program and Project Management Requirements and follow the Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) requirements prescribed in the ROSES announcement. Guidelines for 7120.8 Missions can be found in GPR 8705.4A, Risk Classification Guidelines and Risk-Based SMA Practices for GSFC Payloads and Systems, which is available upon request to the GSFC POD Point of Contact listed in Section 6.0. The partnership opportunity is being issued to select a teaming partner to serve as the Rover provider including any associated operations support. An additional opportunity is to act as instrument integrator, integrating the payload on to the Rover and conducting overall system environmental testing. GSFC intends to maintain an essential degree of oversight to ensure that the implementation is responsive to NASA requirements and constraints as are defined in upcoming SALSA announcement. NOTE: This is a multiple scope opportunity. To that end, it is acceptable to respond to the - Rover Provider role without the expanded Instrument Integration and System level Test Role. Upon selection, GSFC may discuss, and further tailor of the roles proposed by respondents in best interest of proposal. 1.1 Schedule Milestones The following schedule should be used as a preliminary basis for responses to this opportunity. Actual proposal and implementation schedule details will not be known until the SALSA announcement is released. Milestone Date POD Released January 24, 2024 POD Responses Due 3 weeks from POD release Partner Presentations 2 weeks from receipt of POD responses Partner Selection Announced 1 week from Final Partner Presentations SALSA Announcement Release Date Expected NLT February 14, 2024 SALSA Proposals Due 4 months post release date Selection(s) Announced (target) 6 months post proposal submission Authority to Proceed (ATP) 7 months post proposal submission Payload Integration onto Rover Approximately 15 months post ATP Delivery of integrated payload/Rover to CLPS lander provider Approximately 18 months post ATP Launch Readiness Date TBD - pending announcement Cruise 4-6 weeks Surface Operations 10-12 Earth Days 1.2 Cost Total mission cost and cost fidelity are important issues for the mission trade studies. The total cost cap for this announcement is expected to be $8 million (FY'24). This cost includes the instrument build, rover design and fabrication, instrument to rover integration, environmental testing, launch site operations, mission operations, as well as the expected required 20% cost reserve. Cost reserves will be held at the NASA HQ level and not with GSFC or the Rover provider. There will be no exchange of funds between the teaming partners for the portion of this partnership opportunity dealing with the preparation of the initial submission to the SALSA announcement. Funding will be available for subsequent phases should the candidate mission concept be competitively selected to move into the implementation phase. 2.0 Partnership Overview The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is seeking Space qualified hardware vendors as partners for potential science mission proposals to the SALSA announcement, providing the following services: Minimum: Develop a lunar Rover concept that supports the interfaces and science operational needs as described in this document and 2) Provide Rover related mission operations support from pre-launch preparations, launch and commissioning, cruise, lunar science operations, and end of life. Option 1: Provide instrument to Rover integration and test support All interested parties are required to respond to this POD in accordance with Section 6. 3.0 Requirements 3.1 Rover to Accommodate GSFC Provided Payload The Rover is expected to accommodate a payload with the following interfaces: Interface Value Volume (cm x cmx cm) 10 x 14 x 5 including small electronics box Maximum Expected Mass (kg) < 1 Science Operations Power: (W)* <1 Total Mission Data Generation < 0.2 GB * Does not include thermal heater power More detailed information on the GSFC payload will be provided to those responding with a Notice of Interest (NOI). A Notice of Interest (it is intentionally not called a notice of intent) does not obligate an organization to provide a POD response to any mission. 3.2 Rover to Interface with CLPS Lander The Rover provider shall be responsible for 1. Accommodating CLPS lander interfaces, including mechanical, electrical, thermal, power, and communication. 2. Developing a deployment mechanism for the Rover from the CLPS lander to the lunar surface 3. Transmitting payload science data back to the CLPS lander for storage and eventual downlink to earth. Some CLPS Lander interface requirements may not be known until post proposal submission. 3.3 Rover to Accommodate Lunar Surface Concept of Operations The Rover shall be able to 1. Traverse a minimum of 200 M while at a minimum distance of 20 M from the lander 2. Be able to be commanded to stop and start from the ground at predesignated locations 3. Conduct science operations while moving or stationary More detailed information on the GSFC Payload will be provided to those responding with a NOI. 3.4 Rover Partner to Support Mission Operations The Rover Vendor shall provide Rover related mission operations support from pre-launch preparations, launch and commissioning, cruise, lunar science operations, and end of mission. The location of the Rover control center may be at the Rover providers facility or at GSFC. This includes rover post launch checkout, post landing checkout, deployment, control of rover movement based on guidance from the science team and troubleshooting any operational issues that may arise. Option 1. Partner to conduct payload integration onto Rover and final system level testing. 4.0 Pre-Selection Support SOW (Statement of Work): The Rover partner will provide support using their own resources to help develop the required proposal elements in response to the PRISM SALSA announcement in the following areas: 1. A well-defined and documented rover baseline concept, accommodating: 1.1. Instrument interfaces as described in section 3.1 and the follow up document GSFC will provide 1.2. Lander Interfaces, to the best available knowledge 1.3. Instrument concept of operations as described in section 3.3 and the follow up document GSFC will provide 2. Rover to spacecraft integration 3. Mission operations 4. (Optional) Instrument Integration on to Rover and final systems level testing. This will involve meetings with the Principal Investigator (PI) and other proposal team members to establish the mission architecture, to help define both end-to-end mission and elemental performance requirements, to provide well-defined interfaces for the instruments and ground system elements, and to identify any necessary technology developments, study topics, and/or other risk areas that may affect mission success. Approximately 60 days after the SALSA announcement there will be a Design Review which the Rover partner is expected to present their aspects of the mission to a technical/cost review panel. This Phase includes cost estimation for all partner-provided mission elements for all mission phases. The respondent is expected to aid the proposal team in the development/production of the required proposal content as well as supporting parts of the proposal production related to the Rover. The period of performance for this interval is expected to start as per section 1.1. 5.0 Mission Implementation Support SOW: If the mission is selected for implementation, the proposal team will receive funding to conduct implementation tasks as described in this document and the Rover provider will be allocated an agreed to portion of this funding. As this is expected to be a one-step proposal there will be no further down select. The Rover partner shall contribute to designing, documenting, costing the Rover fabrication, integration and testing, and mission operations consistent with the S&MA requirements in the ROSES announcement. The provider shall complete fabrication of the Rover on an agreed to cost and schedule If Option 1 is selected then the Rover providers will also be responsible for instrument integration onto the Rover, system testing, and delivery the Lander provider. The period of performance for this interval is expected to follow the timeline noted in Section 2.0, however the respondent is encouraged to develop a schedule for completing the spacecraft bus that provides the best value to the Government. 6.0 POD Response Guidance 6.1 POD Response Instructions and Point of Contact Potential respondents are asked to contact the GSFC Point of Contact as soon as possible after release of this document with a Notice of Interest (intentionally not called notice of intent). This contact does not create an obligation to respond to the POD but allows GSFC to disseminate more details on the payload interfaces and concept of operations and to provide answers to questions from potential partners. All Notice of Interest respondents will receive further details that will facilitate a focused response. These details are competition sensitive and not to be shared outside the teams necessary to prepare a full response. All questions and answers will be sent to those who responded to the Notice of Interest, while the source of the questions shall be held confidential. Questions and answers that contain information unique to a respondent's proprietary approach will not be shared if they are identified as such. The answers provided to all qualified Notice of Interest responders are vital to focused responses. Questions can be sent to the contact listed below via email. For purposes of this partnership opportunity, the primary contact is Michael Amato, Michael.j.Amato@nasa.gov Responses to this POD shall: 1) Be in a presentation format (viewgraphs) that shall not exceed 15 pages. The font size for the text shall be no smaller than 12 point. 2) Address all requirements noted in sections 3.0 through 6.0 of this document. Responses will be treated as proprietary information and controlled as such. The respondents shall deliver the requested information in presentation format. Final presentation packages must be received by 1600 EDT, February 19,2024. Presentations are to be delivered electronically to Michael Amato at the above listed email address. Following receipt of responses, NASA/GSFC will set up teleconferences with each respondent for oral presentation and questions and answers. The timeline of these teleconferences is expected to be the 1-2 weeks after the response deadline date. Teleconferences will be scheduled in the order that responses were received. Partnership Selection(s) is expected to be made 1-2 weeks week after final presentations. NASA's GSFC reserves the option to NOT select any teaming partners for any/all mission covered under this POD offering based on materials received. 6.2 Pre-Selection POD Response SOW: The respondent is expected to: 1. Demonstrate understanding and flight experience in the design, fabrication, integration and testing of space qualified hardware, ideally lunar surface capable hardware. 2. Identify any pertinent missions for which the respondent has provided support for proposal writing in the areas of hardware design, fabrication, integration and testing, and mission operations: 3. Identify assumed mission and system requirements for the Rover and a response to addressing those requirements. 4. Highlight particularly critical or challenging areas for the design of the Rover 5. Indicate what level of resources would be allocated to the proposal phase of support. Discuss skills that will be provided, ideas on what level of conceptual design would be provided. 6.3 Mission Implementation Response SOW: The respondent is expected to: 1. Provide a technical summary/description of the proposed Rover concept including relevant heritage. 2. Identify available design and modeling capabilities required to support development of the Rover 3. Identify fabrication and testing facilities that will be required to support development and test of the Rover; and important analysis, and trade studies that might be needed. 4. Provide scope of the assumed mission operations, 5. Provide separate Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimate and schedule for: A) Mission implementation (Rover build) and B) Cruise and surface Science operations and c) System Level Integration and Test, if that option is taken 7.0 Evaluation Factors and Criteria Selection criteria will be consistent with the desire to encourage cost effective partnerships between the Government and Industry. The information requested in Section 3 & 4 will allow the evaluators to determine how well the respondents systems match and enable the SALSA mission. The evaluation team will use the following factors in selection and award: 1. Technical Approach (40%). Respondents will be evaluated on their ability to meet the technical requirements given in this document and the follow up more detailed payload interface and concept of operations. This includes demonstrated understanding of the requirements and proposed approach to meet those requirements. 2. Relevant Experience and Past Performance (35%). Special emphasis will be given to demonstrated experience with similar lunar hardware missions and mission operations 3. Cost/Schedule (25%). Respondents will be evaluated on their overall cost, Rover specific cost, resources allocated during the proposal phase, and on the reasonableness of cost and schedule estimates. 8.0 Acronyms ATP - Authority to Proceed CLPS - Commercial Lunar Payload Service GSFC - NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center NLT - No Later Than NOI - Notice of Interest NPR - NASA Procedural Requirement PI - Principal Investigator POD - Partnership Opportunity Document ROM - Rough Order of Magnitude ROSES - Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science SALSA - Stand-Alone Landing Site-Agnostic S&MA - Safety and Mission Assurance SOW - Statement of Work TBD - To Be Determined