CC20 NASA's Lunar Delivery Challenge

NASA's Artemis program is focused on the goal of landing the first American woman and the next man on the surface of the moon in 2024. Additionally, NASA wishes to create a sustainable presence on the lunar surface and then move on to explore Mars. NASA's strategic goal is to also engage industry and the public as a whole to help realize our next great leaps in the solar system. As a part of this effort, a need to land supplies and systems on the lunar surface and in like fashion on the surface of Mars is a critical component to the success of human exploration. Cargo loading/unloading is something that is performed at an unprecedented level today versus the rest of human history as cargo transportation and offloading is necessary for the global economy. The challenge on other surfaces arises with the conditions present (thermal, lighting, communications, regolith consistency), the desire to minimize mass of all landed systems, the desire to perform much of the activities with limited to minimal human interaction to save on crew/operator time, and the overall configuration of the landers (e.g. tall lander decks) that are responsible for landing the loading/unloading systems and cargo. Crowdsourcing is a ripe opportunity to solicit new concepts for loading/unloading of cargo on the moon and Mars as industry has a great deal of experience with multiple payload types on the surface of Earth. Payloads being loading/unloading may require faster/slower loading times, precision orientations on surfaces/transporters, more/less handling sensitives, greater/lesser mass capacities, and others. Learning from what is done on Earth by those that are familiar with cargo activities can help in the design and development of systems for lunar and Mars applications. The delivery desired from industry and the public is innovative concepts for loading/unloading payloads onto the lunar surface that NASA could leverage for Artemis payloads with descriptions, technologies required, and written discussion explaining the concept.
Landing on the Moon with all that we need is just the beginning. Now we have to unload it. Your ideas can help jump-start the space economy. The goal of NASA's Artemis program is to land the first woman and the next man on the surface of the moon in 2024. By the end of the decade, NASA wishes to create a sustainable base camp on the lunar surface which will serve as a hub for scientific research and can also be a base for future exploration of Mars. A critical component of this program's success is the delivery of supplies and systems to the lunar surface and eventually Mars. NASA's Artemis program is focused on the goal of landing the first American woman and the next man on the surface of the moon in 2024. Additionally, NASA wishes to create a sustainable presence on the lunar surface and then move on to explore Mars. NASA's strategic goal is to also engage industry and the public as a whole to help realize our next great leaps in the solar system. As a part of this effort, a need to land supplies and systems on the lunar surface and in like fashion on the surface of Mars is a critical component to the success of human exploration. Cargo loading/unloading is something that is performed at an unprecedented level today versus the rest of human history as cargo transportation and offloading is necessary for the global economy. The challenge on other surfaces arises with the conditions present (thermal, lighting, communications, regolith consistency), the desire to minimize mass of all landed systems, the desire to perform much of the activities with limited to minimal human interaction to save on crew/operator time, and the overall configuration of the landers (e.g. tall lander decks) that are responsible for landing the loading/unloading systems and cargo. Crowdsourcing is a ripe opportunity to solicit new concepts for loading/unloading of cargo on the moon and Mars as industry has a great deal of experience with multiple payload types on the surface of Earth. Payloads being loading/unloading may require faster/slower loading times, precision orientations on surfaces/transporters, more/less handling sensitives, greater/lesser mass capacities, and others. Learning from what is done on Earth by those that are familiar with cargo activities can help in the design and development of systems for lunar and Mars applications. The delivery desired from industry and the public is innovative concepts for loading/unloading payloads onto the lunar surface that NASA could leverage for Artemis payloads with descriptions, technologies required, and written discussion explaining the concept.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.