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NASA Seeks Industry Input to Accelerate Lunar Surface Technologies

Page: NASA article by Loura Hall, 29 June 2026. https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/nasa-seeks-industry-input-to-accelerate-lunar-surface-technologies/. Fetched 2026-10-02T04:02:30Z. File: sources/moon-base/nasa-gov-directorates-stmd-nasa-seeks-industry-input-to-accelerate-lunar-surface-technolog.md.

Summary. The call for comments on the draft of NextSTEP-3 Appendix A, the Lunar Enabling Infrastructure Accelerator (solicitation 80GRC026R0008), open "through July 17, 2026". It describes the five topics and says they address gaps "as identified in NASA's Civil Space Shortfalls", not the ADD's gaps.

Key points

  • The five topics "address gaps in technology needed for exploring the Moon and the cislunar region between Earth and the Moon as identified in NASA's Civil Space Shortfalls. The topics focus on near-term mission priorities":
    • Surface power: "Access to continuous, localized, and scalable power generation throughout the lunar day and night is essential for initial phases of the Moon Base plan. NASA's needs include power generation, power management and distribution, and energy storage."
    • Radioisotope power: "A type of nuclear energy technology that uses heat to produce electric power for operating spacecraft systems in the darkest, dustiest, and most remote places in our solar system."
    • In-situ resource utilization: could "support production of fuel, water, and oxygen from local materials".
    • In-space advanced manufacturing: "autonomous in-space production of essential tools and materials", to reduce "reliance on Earth resupply" at "the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere in deep space".
    • Innovative nanomaterials: "commercial availability, performance, quality, and uniformity of nanomaterials", for "environmental, mass, and performance challenges".
  • What awardees do: "design, develop, and demonstrate prototype systems and generate validated performance data, analytical models, and operational insights through testing and demonstration".
  • Who: the draft is open "for review by U.S. organizations, including industry, educational institutions, and non-profits". Quoted: Greg Stover, "Director of the Advanced Research and Technology Division, Research and Technology Mission Directorate", on "A sustained human presence at the Moon". The page sits under NASA's STMD address and lists STMD among its terms, a month after STMD became part of RTMD (realignment release).

What it doesn't say

Any ADD technology gap. STMD's Civil Space Shortfalls are not the architecture's gaps (Foundational Exploration gaps deck, Feb 2025; open question 87), and SCHEMA keeps them off the gap pages (questions 85, 87).

Surface technology · NextSTEP-3 A page · September release