NextSTEP-3 Appendix B: Moon Base Demonstrations

UPDATE: October 9, 2026

Directed Call (DC) #2 Surface Mating Systems (SMS) White Paper Questions and Responses and Model Contract added to Attachments/Links. DC #2 SMS White paper submissions are due by 5:00 p.m. CT on October 16, 2026. 

UPDATE: October 2, 2026

NASA is pleased to announce the release of Directed Call #2, Surface Mating Systems. The primary objective of this Directed Call is to design and develop new SMS concepts, culminating in a ground demonstration by September 30, 2027. Per Section 7 of the Directed Call, questions related to this call may be submitted until 5:00 p.m. CT on October 6, 2026. White paper submissions are due by 5:00 p.m. CT on October 16, 2026.

UPDATE: August 14, 2026

The remaining Q&As have been added under the Attachments/Links tab along with associated updates to the Solicitation and Directed-Topic Call 1. Updates in the solicitation and Directed-Topic call are in red font. White paper submission date for Directed-Topic Call 1 is August 24, 2026. 

UPDATE: August 7, 2026

NASA is actively working to finalize and publish responses to all questions and comments submitted under the Appendix B solicitation and Direct-Topic Call 1. Due to the significant level of industry engagement, and to better support offerors, NASA will release these responses in batches as they are completed. The first batch of responses is now available in the Attachments section.

Additionally, NASA is extending the white paper submission deadline from August 17, 2026, to August 24, 2026, to allow offerors sufficient time to incorporate the released responses into their submissions.

UPDATE: July 16, 2026

The final solicitation for Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-3 (NextSTEP-3), Appendix B, Moon to Mars Architectural Studies, issued under solicitation number 80MSFC26R0003, has been reissued as Appendix B: Moon Base Demonstrations and supersedes previous solicitation instructions.

In December 2025, a national space policy was signed into place that emphasized America's leadership in space, including returning to the Moon, building a permanent base, investing in new technologies, and advancing lunar and orbital economies for future scientific missions.  NASA’s Moon Base, located in the lunar South Pole region, will serve as the premier proving ground for deep space exploration, empowering scientific discovery and the development of advanced space technologies.

Based on the preceding, Appendix B will now focus on phased implementation of Moon Base. NASA seeks to bridge the gap between technology development and mission operations, targeting concepts at technology readiness level (TRL) 6 and beyond.  Industry partners play a critical role in addressing architectural gaps and risk reduction buy-down that create the knowledge foundation NASA needs to make informed programmatic decisions and strengthen its ability to achieve strategic exploration goals efficiently and effectively. To that end, NASA's Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate (HSMD) is actively embracing innovative ideas from industry partners through this Appendix B: Moon Base Demonstrations under the NextSTEP-3 Omnibus Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) that calls for industry-led demonstrations and special topic activities.

This BAA uses a dual-path call structure: Directed-Topic Calls and Open-Topic Calls.  NASA will periodically release specific Directed-Topic Calls to guide industry partners and promote focused innovation in support of Moon Base objectives. These Directed-Topic Calls are designed to address evolving mission needs and encourage proposals that advance technologies and capabilities critical to lunar exploration. NASA intends to also have Open-Topic Calls available at a later date to allow industry to propose concepts within the topics outlined above that are not part of any prior Directed-Topic Calls included within this announcement. Open opportunities are meant to capture innovative solutions from the broader industrial base and may result in a contract to any qualified organization. Open-Topic submissions with identical concepts as Directed-Topic Calls will not be evaluated.

This announcement will follow a 2-step process for proposal submissions. Step-1 of the process is the submission of a White Paper. In Step-2 of the process, only invited proposers will be requested to submit a full project proposal. NASA intends to award Firm-Fixed Price contracts with performance-based milestone payments. All awards will be subject to the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the NASA FAR Supplement (NFS).

All questions regarding this solicitation should be submitted in writing, electronically to Brad Vest, Contracting Officer, at Bradley.D.Vest@nasa.gov no later than 5:00 p.m., Central Time (CT), July 30, 2026. Offerors are encouraged to submit questions as soon as possible for consideration. The Offeror shall courtesy copy (cc) hq-nextstep3appb@mail.nasa.gov on this communication.

________________________________________________________________________

The final solicitation for Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-3 (NextSTEP-3), Appendix B, Moon to Mars Architectural Studies, issued under solicitation number 80MSFC26R0003, is on hold until further notice. Offerors are responsible for monitoring this website for the reissuance of the solicitation and any subsequent amendments, if applicable.