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RT-2: Industry Collaboration

Summary. "Partner with U.S. industry to achieve common goals and objectives" (ADD Rev C, p. 83). ADD Rev C says the architecture "depends on American industry to provide exploration services and critical technologies in an affordable manner". It points to commercial partnerships in the EVA, Gateway and HLS programs, Space Technology Mission Directorate work with industry, and CLPS. For the future it names commercial LEO destinations and six areas of collaboration, from technology maturation to industry-run exploration services. One of the nine recurring tenets.

All page numbers below are ADD Rev C, Section 3.5.2 (pp. 87–88).

The assessment

  • "Industry collaborations are an essential part of the Moon to Mars Architecture. Existing elements and programs already draw on the U.S. industrial base; this integration only grows as the architecture advances" (p. 87).
  • Current programs. "The elements in the Human Lunar Return segment already leverage commercial partnerships. The EVA and Human Surface Mobility Program (EHP), Gateway, and HLS programs are working with multiple U.S. companies to design, deliver, and/or provide services for critical systems for Artemis." The Moon to Mars Program "holds continual strategic engagements with its partners and suppliers" (p. 87). See Elements: who implements each.
  • Technology. "NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate is collaborating with industry to improve our ability to explore the lunar surface, including habitation, navigation, mobility, power, communication, and in-situ manufacturing. These technologies will enable safer, longer, and more diverse missions" (p. 88).
  • CLPS. "Through the CLPS Program, NASA has engaged U.S. industry in a new way, pairing members of academia that wish to perform standalone cislunar science missions and corporations that desire to test hardware in the lunar environment with suppliers of multiple launch vehicles and lunar landers. CLPS provides a cost-effective means of transporting a wide variety of payloads with different goals and physical attributes to the cislunar environment or lunar surface" (p. 88). See CLPS.
  • Ahead. "Future segments will continue to grow these partnerships, with an emphasis on Mars-forward technology development. The Moon to Mars Architecture depends on American industry to provide exploration services and critical technologies in an affordable manner" (p. 88).

Future considerations

  • Commercial LEO. "As commercial LEO destinations come online, NASA should investigate opportunities to use those platforms to advance the state of knowledge around human spaceflight in support of Moon to Mars exploration" (p. 88). See RT-8.
  • "NASA will also partner with industry on lunar commercialization and identify opportunities for industry to support Mars exploration. Potential future areas of industry collaboration include the following" (p. 88):
    1. "Team with industry to develop, verify, and validate new technologies for future missions."
    2. "Partner with industry to mature current technologies, reducing cost and risk."
    3. "Identify how commercial activities could contribute to enabling permanent presence on the moon and future exploration of Mars."
    4. "Involve industry in the development and refinement of future technology/system standards, including for robotic interfaces; software information and management systems; rover systems; in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM); power systems; and habitation systems."
    5. "Request that industry develop concepts for exploration services. These services could include end-to-end management of pressurized logistics, beginning with loading on Earth and ending with the disposal or reuse of containers and provision of uncrewed transportation capabilities for surface assets. Further, services such as power augmentation and distribution and providing mission consumables and products from in-situ resources to sustain assets or enhanced cargo return will contribute greatly to achieving agency objectives."
    6. "Encourage industry collaboration in specific areas (e.g., ground and space-based communication and PNT, infrastructure, imagery, power generation/distribution, logistics supply and handling, autonomous robotic operations, sample preservation and return, compatible/interchangeable components) through technology demonstration and communication of long-term strategic goals."

NASA's industry engagement web page

NASA's Industry Engagement page is the route in for U.S. companies; undated, fetched 2026-10-01 (source page):

  • NextSTEP. "NASA's Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) seeks commercial development of new capabilities for human missions in deep space" ("NextSTEP Partnerships"). The ADD's own assessment above doesn't name NextSTEP (the wiki's search of the text for "NextSTEP" found nothing).
  • Two solicitation appendices ("NextSTEP Solicitations"): "Appendix A: Habitation Systems" ("habitation concepts for cislunar space and beyond") and "Appendix R: Lunar Logistics and Mobility Studies" ("integrated surface logistics architectures and uncrewed mobility systems"). Appendix A's page is not among the sources; Appendix R's is (below). Appendix R's subject is the one the 2025 Update gives for adding the Lunar Utility Rover, "autonomous lunar surface mobility"; no source links the two (open question 30).
  • Appendix R, on its own page (dated 19 August 2024, with the January 2025 awards added; source page). NASA sought "industry-led concept definition and maturation studies that address lunar surface logistics and uncrewed surface mobility capabilities", because it "has identified two gaps in its lunar architecture: an integrated surface logistics architecture and uncrewed surface mobility systems for lunar surface assets". The studies were to address "the envisioned logistics and mobility capabilities" stated in three white papers, the 2024 "Lunar Surface Cargo" and "Lunar Mobility Drivers and Needs" and the 2023 "Lunar Logistics Drivers and Needs" ("Solicitation Overview"). The page calls it the "Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) Strategy and Architecture Office (SAO) Lunar Logistics and Mobility Studies BAA". Its goals include "logistics- and mobility-specific needs that may be beyond current and/or planned commercial capabilities" and "innovative ideas for partnership business models, including intellectual property, asset ownership, and timing of asset delivery, and/or services to the government". On 23 January 2025 NASA announced study contracts with "a combined value of $24 million" to nine companies: Blue Origin, Intuitive Machines, Leidos, Lockheed Martin, MDA Space, Moonprint, Pratt Miller Defense, Sierra Space and Special Aerospace Services, each in one to all seven study areas ("Study Contracts Awarded"; who studies what is tabulated on the source page). The page names no paper "Lunar Logistics and Mobility", the Update's title, so it doesn't identify that paper. NASA briefed Appendix R at both February 2025 workshops: a Broad Agency Announcement under the NextSTEP-2 Omnibus that "sought proposals from industry that might advance lunar cargo and mobility capabilities", in seven study areas (logistics carriers; handling and offloading; transfer; staging, storage and tracking; trash management; "Surface Cargo Transportation and Mobility Systems"; "Integrated Strategy"). Pre-solicitations on 16 and 27 August 2024, the solicitation on 20 September 2024, proposals due 25 October 2024, a source selection statement on 22 January 2025, a day before the awards were announced; no selections named (Architecture Updates deck, slide 18). The industry deck adds "Opportunities for collaboration with industry for early studies and trades will continue" (copy, slide 16).
  • Contact and timing. An "authorized representative of a U.S.-based organization" may make contact "following review of the Architecture Definition Document", without "business proprietary or personally sensitive information" ("Chat with us!"). "Workshops are typically held in February of each year" ("Meet with Us!"); the record of past workshops is on Architecture definition process.

In the February 2025 workshop briefing

Older than Rev C. The industry and academia workshop's "Paths to Partnership" session had six talks on the routes in (the Human Research Program's, on its solicitations and TRISH, is on the source page only) (Paths to Partnership deck):

  • ESDMD showed the pre-formulation chart with its industry lane ("Studies", "Industry BAA, RFI, etc.", "RFP") under the title "Partner Path to Infusion into Artemis Enterprise", adding "Agency affirmation of the element in Artemis" to the acquisition strategy meeting (slide 2; RT-1).
  • Procurement: SAM.gov, Grants.gov and NSPIRES; Broad Agency Announcements, among them "NextStep III", which "Solicits concept studies, basic and applied research and technology development and demonstrations in support of" ESDMD and SOMD; SBIR/STTR; NIAC; prize challenges (slides 4–6).
  • STMD: "External STMD Mechanisms to Advance Tech" (contracts, grants, challenges, flight tests, Space Act Agreements), with Tipping Point ("61 projects selected", "$618 million awarded" since 2015) and ACO ("78 projects", "~$78 million in-kind") (slides 14–15).
  • SMD: CLPS's "Benefits to Industry" ("Stimulates the commercial lunar economy"; "Provides access to NASA facilities and expertise") (slide 17; CLPS).
  • Mars Campaign Office: a "Partnering Opportunity Entry" into its yearly new-start cycle ("Utilization of SAAs through centers", "SBIR/STTR", "Program advocacy/Augmentation"), and "Industry/Academia solicitations and partnerships are being assessed for inclusion in the portfolio" (slide 20; Gaps index).

Against Rev C (the wiki's comparison): the assessment above names STMD's work with industry and CLPS, but none of the mechanisms; "NextStep III" is the slide's spelling, and the slide doesn't name an appendix.

Changes since Rev C

Briefed at the January 2026 workshop for industry and academia, under "What's Out of Bounds?" (2026 industry and academia workshop, slide 18):

  • A NextSTEP "Appendix B". "The NextSTEP Appendix B Industry Day is a separate event with independent registration; Please hold all questions about Appendix B until the industry day." The slide links https://www.nasa.gov/general/nextstep-3-b-moon-to-mars-architecture-studies/ and gives the address [email protected]. It gives Appendix B no title or date beyond these. NASA's industry page lists only NextSTEP-2's Appendices A (habitation) and R (above). The NextSTEP-3 Appendix B page now held is at another address, …/nextstep-3-b-moon-base-demonstrations/ (below); reading it as the same appendix retitled is the wiki's, from the two addresses.
  • Fission surface power. "Most NASA representatives may not discuss fission surface power system proposals during the pre-solicitation and solicitation periods", with a draft announcement "for partnership proposals" on sam.gov. See Lunar Nuclear Fission System.

The same deck lists among the workshops' results "Adapting engagement to enable more industry studies in priority areas" and "Changes to solicitation, procurement, and study approaches" (slide 4), without naming any.

NextSTEP-3, mid-2026. Two appendices of the NextSTEP-3 Broad Agency Announcement, not to be confused with NextSTEP-2's Appendices A and R above, are open to industry for the Moon Base:

  • Appendix A, the Lunar Enabling Infrastructure Accelerator (LEIA), solicitation 80GRC026R0008: draft 29 June 2026, final 8 September 2026. It seeks to "close key technology gaps and mature capabilities in vertical solar arrays, ISRU oxygen production systems, Stirling radioisotope generators, in‑space manufacturing, and advanced nanomaterials production", by ground testing to "TRL 5–6", to "advance the technology objectives of NASA's Moon Base" (NextSTEP-3 A page). The gaps are those "identified in NASA's Civil Space Shortfalls" (draft-input article), not the ADD's. Open to "international partners participating through U.S.-led teams" (September release).
  • Appendix B, "Moon Base Demonstrations", notice M2M-MSFC-0001, from the Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate (announced 30 June 2026): "industry-led demonstrations, risk reduction, and special topic activities", "concept demonstrations, risk reduction opportunities, and studies that address Moon Base architecture gaps". Its "first directed topic call will be on surface power"; its nine topics run from Infrastructure to Concepts of Operations. White papers were due 24 August 2026 (NextSTEP-3 B page).
  • The boundary: Appendix A for "early research and component-to-system-level development (typically achieving up to TRL 5 or 6)"; Appendix B for "system-level integration and lunar demonstrations (TRL 6 and beyond)", "culminating in flight or lunar surface demonstrations" (both pages).

Against the assessment (the wiki's comparison): the two appendices are of the kinds the ADD lists first among future areas, "develop, verify, and validate new technologies" and "mature current technologies, reducing cost and risk" (p. 88, items 1 and 2 above); neither page cites the ADD.

Item 5's services touch subjects that have their own pages; the pairings are the wiki's, not the ADD's: Logistics Systems, Power Systems, ISRU Systems, and key definition task LD-101 (power augmentation).

Industry in the pre-formulation process. A 2024 white paper's figure of NASA's pre-formulation process gives industry its own lane beside international partners: "Studies", then "Industry BAA, RFI, etc.", then an "RFP" document, with an "Acquisition Strategy Meeting" deciding "whether to make, buy, or partner" (International Partnerships, pp. 2–3; RT-1). The paper is about international partners; the figure is the only place it gives industry a path.

Recurring tenets · RT-1 International Collaboration · RT-7 Interoperability (standards) · RT-9 Commerce and Space Development

Sources

ADD Rev C, pp. 83, 87–88 · Industry Engagement page · NextSTEP-2 Appendix R page · 2026 industry and academia workshop, slides 4, 18 · NextSTEP-3 A page · NextSTEP-3 B page · LEIA draft-input article · LEIA release, Sep 2026