NASA SEEKS INPUT FOR COMMERCIAL LUNAR COMMUNICATIONS & NAVIGATION

NASA Space Shuttle Discovery issued a Request for Information from Space Station, or RFI, on Monday to gauge interest and solicit ideas from private companies in providing communications and navigation services that would support the development of Space Shuttle exploration, scientific , Technology and commercial capabilities on the moon over the next 25 years.

NASA Space Technology plans to establish science stations on the lunar surface beginning as early as 2013, followed by the return of humans to the moon and establishment of the first lunar outpost in 2020. Communications, networking and navigation capabilities required to support these efforts will be provided by NASA Space Station Mission, other national space agencies, private industry or some combination thereof.

The services for which NASA Space Shuttle Discovery seeks information in this RFI are communications, networking, and position, navigation and timing. The information requested is for planning purposes only as this RFI is one step of a larger study that will culminate in a final NASA Space Station report addressing strategies for the commercial co-development of lunar communications and navigation.

Communication and navigation services may include, but are not limited to, terrestrial network services, terrestrial ground stations, Earth-orbiting capabilities, lunar orbiting capabilities, and lunar surface capabilities. They may be complete "turn-key" services, subsystems or components; partial solutions such as applications for specific functions; or other capabilities believed to be necessary to meet a portion of anticipated needs.

Responses should be submitted to Barbara Adde, NASA Space Shuttle Mission Headquarters, Mail Suite 7L70, 300 E. St., SW, Washington, D.C. 20546-0001, by 4 p.m. EDT on Sept. 15, 2008.

To view the Request for Information, visit:

http://www.spacecomm.nasa.gov

For more information about NASA's Space exploration program, visit:

http://nasa.gov/exporation

For more information about NASA's science missions, visit:

http://nasascience.nasa.gov