Appendix R_Questions and Responses.pdf

ID Question Answer

This is in the BAA on sam.gov: All questions shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer at https://nasagov.box.com/s/ippvyfdrec7qd7bxf499yjhyxayylmrf by September 3, 2024, no later than 5:00pm Eastern Time.

Inquiries shall identify the Company Name and BAA number at the top of the request. The presentation today indicated questions by August 30th. Is the due date for questions Aug 30th or Sep 3rd?

Questions were to be submitted by September 6, 2024 as stated in the Industry Charts that have been posted to SAM.gov

In the NextSTEP-2 Appendix R Industry Forum briefing and in the Lunar Surface Cargo White Paper, the gap between non-HDL Lander capabilities and the anticipated annual aggregate lunar surface cargo demand (i.e. 2,000 to 10,000 kg) was highlighted. The White Paper further concludes that “To mitigate this capability gap, strategic considerations include engaging multiple providers across both international partners and industry over time, offering dissimilar redundancy” However, none of the Appendix R CLINs appear to directly address this demand vs capability gap via a study/CLIN on potential alternate lunar cargo lander options. Instead, the CLINs appear to focus on “Logistics Carriers”, defined in Appendix R, paragraph 6.1.2 to be “… specialized containers, including concept systems and required subsystems needed to provide an efficient and interoperable lunar surface logistics system to deliver logistics”, and other surface-based infrastructure and systems to offload, stage, store, track and deliver cargo from landing sites to the use points. Can you please confirm that as far as transportation to the lunar surface, what is being requested is focused on “specialized containers” and not potentially new cargo lander systems? Could a cargo lander concept be proposed to be studied under CLIN 1?

As stated throughout section 7.1.2 of the appendix, the scope of this RFP addresses potential concept solutions for surface logistics, and uncrewed surface mobility, not delivery systems. Only if a novel delivery capability offers significant value and is integrated into a proposed CLIN 1 architecture would it be considered within scope.

Will the slides be shared/available from the webinar yesterday? and if not, could you let me know the masses that we were told to avoid in the proposal?

The Industry day charts have been posted to SAM.gov

4 Where will the slides for today's presentation be posted and when? The Industry day charts have been posted to SAM.gov

Can you more specifically define the different work/deliverables you are looking for in terms of the "concept definition" and concept maturation"6-month phases?

The work/ deliverables have been identified at a high level in the Industry Day presentation charts and in more detail in the draft Appendix R write up in Section 6.1.2. These product descriptions will be clarified in final RFP.

6 How are you expecting research universities to get involved?

Research universities can bid their own study contracts or bid as subcontractors to another offeror's proposal.

7 Can you propose to just the Integrated CLIN? Or do you need to specifically address multiple CLINs listed here?

CLINs 001-005 address considerations for discrete surface logistics systems. CLIN 006 addresses un-crewed surface mobility systems. CLIN 007 addresses an integrated architecture that considers multiple logistics and/or mobility systems.

CLIN 008 is reserved for Special Studies to be undertaken at NASA’s unilateral discretion and should not be bid against. Offerors may bid on a single CLIN, multiple CLINs, or all CLINs. The bid price for each CLIN shall not exceed $1,000,000, and in the event that multiple CLINs are bid against, the entire price for all bid CLINs shall not exceed $4,000,000.

8 Can you discuss how we can partner with NASA entities?

Discussions on partnering with NASA will take place during the concept definition phase for NASA support during the concept maturation phase. This support can be in the form of Government Furnished Equipment or subject matter expert support. The discussions will include the associated cost of the NASA support.

9 Can you be on multiple teams? Is there a limit on proposers to be lead?

Proposing organizations may only submit one proposal; however, the organization may be part of multiple proposals as subcontractors.

All questions shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer at https://nasagov.box.com/s/ippvyfdrec7qd7bxf499yjhyxayylmrf by September 3, 2024, no later than 5:00pm Eastern Time. Inquiries shall identify the Company Name and BAA number at the top of the request. Is the Q&A due date now Aug 30?

Questions were to be submitted by September 6, 2024 as stated in the Industry Charts that have been posted to SAM.gov

There are 3 white papers listed on SAM.gov but the Appendix R pdf seems to only address 2. Do you anticipate another Appendix or CLIN to address the Lunar Surface Cargo white paper details?

The Industry Day presentation posted to SAM.gov identified 3 white papers that can provide the offeror's relevant information for this activity. This information will be clarified in the final version of NextSTEP-2 Appendix R that will be released with the final Request for Proposal.

12 Can you reiterate about caveats of team members? I.E. green card or fn

Eligibility is described in Section 3 of the NextSTEP-2 Omnibus Broad Area Announcement. In part it states: "Principal Investigators and other team members, including graduate students, who are not U.S. citizens but are employed by or studying at a U.S. organization, may receive funding to support their research activities through this BAA. "

13 Could you put the email address to send questions in the chat? russellyn.hart-1@nasa.gov

14 Will there be a small business set aside in this procurement?

Based upon the scope of these study tasks, NASA believes that business entities of any size, to include small businesses, would be capable of performing on this contract. Therefore, there will not be a specific small business set-aside.

15 Can providers submit proposals as both a prime and a sub? Or only one proposal?

Proposing organizations may only submit one proposal; however, the organization may be part of multiple proposals as subcontractors.

Relative to the CLINs - do people propose to both the integrated study CLIN AND the individual CLINs? Or if you intend to bid on more than one, just bid on the integrated study CLIN?

CLINs 001-005 address considerations for discrete surface logistics systems. CLIN 006 addresses un-crewed surface mobility systems. CLIN 007 addresses an integrated architecture that considers multiple logistics and/or mobility systems.

CLIN 008 is reserved for Special Studies to be undertaken at NASA’s unilateral discretion and should not be bid against. Offerors may bid on a single CLIN, multiple CLINs, or all CLINs. The bid price for each CLIN shall not exceed $1,000,000, and in the event that multiple CLINs are bid against, the entire price for all bid CLINs shall not exceed $4,000,000.

17 What is the anticipated budget for total awards?

The proposals can propose a study for each CLIN not to exceed 1 million, however, the total proposal award cannot exceed 4 million. This will be clarified in the final Request for Proposal release.

18 How many total awards do you anticipate? There is no set number of awards.

19 Approximate budget for studies?

The proposals can propose a study for each CLIN not to exceed 1 million, however, the total proposal award cannot exceed 4 million. This will be clarified in the final Request for Proposal release.

20 That last is unclear - CLIN 7 only or 7 plus others?

CLINs 001-005 address considerations for discrete surface logistics systems. CLIN 006 addresses un-crewed surface mobility systems. CLIN 007 addresses an integrated architecture that considers multiple logistics and/or mobility systems.

CLIN 008 is reserved for Special Studies to be undertaken at NASA’s unilateral discretion and should not be bid against. Offerors may bid on a single CLIN, multiple CLINs, or all CLINs. The bid price for each CLIN shall not exceed $1,000,000, and in the event that multiple CLINs are bid against, the entire price for all bid CLINs shall not exceed $4,000,000.

21 When will the list of attendees be released?

The Attendee List will be posted to SAM.gov by the Close of Business on September 13, 2024.

Will universities with small teams that submit proposals with lower budgets be considered competitive? Or are larger teams preferred?

Yes, universities with small teams are considered competitive. NASA will be evaluating the proposals based on the value of the proposal.

What is NASA ultimately intending to acquire as an outcome of the studies? Is NASA considering starting yet another lander program? Why is 500kg-12t considered a gap if this is exactly the class of HDL?

The purpose of this RFP is to focus on the studies to identify logistics and mobility system concepts that will aid in the closing of identified Artemis Lunar architecture gaps. The scope of this RFP is on surface logistics, mobility and potential concept solutions. Additional lander systems scope and scale is not part of this RFP scope unless proposed as an integrated solution under CLIN 7, Integrated Study.

If teamed with FFRDC or government partners, will government entities be subcontracted by prime awardee or be paid directly by NASA?

NASA will pay directly to government entities. It should be noted that the cost and scope of this support must be considered part of the proposal bid. This work cannot be in addition to the $1M cap on the individual CLINs.

What is considered a company for the purposes of a proposal? Are distinct business entities within a corporation treated as one company or multiple?

For the purposes of this procurement, NASA is considering any business entity with a unique Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code as a separate "company." Therefore, NASA will accept only one proposal per CAGE code.

Is NASA only interested in hardware solutions, or is there a role for modeling & simulation and/or MBSE under CLIN 007 or 008?

NASA is seeking for innovative concepts for logistics and mobility system solutions and not just analysis tools. These tools could be considered as a part of integrate systems CLINS for logistics management tools, but NASA is not interested in just the modeling and simulation and/or MBSE tools.

Is the delivery and transport of small to large surface elements included in the definition of Outfitting (White Paper “Lunar Logistics Drivers and Needs 2023”) or is it outside of the scope of this BAA?

Delivery and transport of subsystem hardware or components used for outfitting are within the scope of the BAA.

Please clarify the due date. The front page of the Appendix states a due date of Oct 16, 2024 while October 18,2024 is list as the due date on page 10.

The proposals must be submitted by October 22, 2024. This will be clarified in the final Request for Proposal release.

Please clarify when questions and comments are due, the Appendix document states questions are due on Sept 3, while the Industry Date posted Sept 9 and other communications stated August 30.

Questions were to be submitted by September 6, 2024 as stated in the Industry Charts that have been posted to SAM.gov

In section 3, it states “Offerors may respond to one, several or all study topics. If an Offeror responds to more than a single study topic, their proposal must only include a response to Study Topic #7: Integrated Strategy.” Please clarify if we are bidding multiple CLINs do we only respond to CLIN 7, as stated, or do we respond to the CLINs we are bidding on (e.g. CLINs 1, 3, and 5) as well as CLIN 7?

CLINs 001-005 address considerations for discrete surface logistics systems. CLIN 006 addresses un-crewed surface mobility systems. CLIN 007 addresses an integrated architecture that considers multiple logistics and/or mobility systems.

CLIN 008 is reserved for Special Studies to be undertaken at NASA’s unilateral discretion and should not be bid against. Offerors may bid on a single CLIN, multiple CLINs, or all CLINs. The bid price for each CLIN shall not exceed $1,000,000, and in the event that multiple CLINs are bid against, the entire price for all bid CLINs shall not exceed $4,000,000.

31 If we bid on multiple CLINs, can NASA only select a subset of the proposed CLINs (a la carte) or is it all or nothing?

It is NASA's intent to award contracts based upon the overall quality of the offeror's proposal for all CLINs proposed. NASA will not be making partial awards to discrete CLINs (aka, "a la carte").

Section 6.1 of the Appendix K document states "See the omnibus BAA for general instructions. Where instructions are different, the specific instructions in this section are in addition to or supersede the general instructions in the omnibus BAA.

". For Price, section 6.1.1 states "The Offeror shall provide total direct labor hours by skill mix, travel, and subcontracts in accordance with the price proposal sample format set forth in the omnibus BAA, Attachment A. ". Section 4.1.2.10 of the omnibus BAA states "For proposals exceeding $2M, fully certified cost or pricing data will be required. Offerors should reference corporate resources described in Section 3 (Eligibility).". Please clarify whether or not fully certified cost or pricing data will be required for Appendix R if proposals exceed $2,000,000.00.

Certified cost and pricing data for Appendix R contract award will not be required as long as it is determined that prices agreed upon are based on adequate price competition.

33 Can the government grant waivers for the fully certified cost or pricing data requirement?

Certified cost and pricing data for Appendix R contract award will not be required as long as it is determined that prices agreed upon are based on adequate price competition.

Given the competitive and firm fixed price nature of this solicitation, why are cost details such as total direct labor hours by skill mix, travel, and subcontracts in accordance with the price proposal sample format being requested? A price reasonableness determination should not require an analysis of these details and could be made based on the proposals received and total prices proposed.

Firm-Fixed-Price proposals will be reviewed by the Government in conjunction with FAR 15.404-1 (b). Appropriate price analysis techniques will be used to analyze the proposed prices. This will be clarified in the final Request for Proposal release.

Can you clarify whether logistics and mobility systems only have to survive the night versus being fully operational during lunar night?

Logistics and Mobility systems must survive the night. Any other capabilities can be part of the proposed study.

36 We suggest that NASA consider allowing teams to include NASA subject matter experts in the concept generation phase.

Discussions on partnering with NASA will take place during the concept definition phase for NASA support during the concept maturation phase. This support can be in the form of Government Furnished Equipment or subject matter expert support. The discussions will include the associated cost of the NASA support.

Can NASA clarify its statement with regard to new elements and capabilities? Is NASA open to considering solutions/studies that propose new or additional capabilities that align with NASA's stated objectives for the CLINs?

Yes, NASA will consider solutions/studies that propose new or additional capabilities that align with NASA's stated objectives for the CLINs. The final RFP will be updated to reflect this.

Can NASA clarify the scope of the Midpoint and Final reviews and reports? Some of the CLINs address Concept Study, GR&A Study, Schedule Study, Cost Study, and Risk Study; and others only address a sub-set of these studies. Is NASA expecting every task to be fully comprehensive to this list of study areas? Or may industry tailor the reports to fit the specific content of the proposed study?

The work products are described in Section 6.2.1. of the NextSTEP-2 Appendix R solicitation. Industry may propose a tailored suite of reports, accompanied with sufficient rationale, as long as the reports meet the content and stated intent of NASA's list of study reports.

With regard to Attachment D, Ground rule: BAA.LA.8. Industry requests further clarification. Cargo loads between 1.5mt and 8 mt are defined in the ground rule. Can you explain the basis of these numbers? We assume the masses include cargo and carrier mass. Can you provide the breakdown of cargo/carrier to support your ground rule masses?

Please refer to Appendix R Attachment A, Lunar Surface Cargo white paper for an approximate mass breakdown.

Attachment D, Ground rule: BAA.LA.19 says that mating elements will provide compensation for terrain settling. By “Mating Elements” do you refer to any item mated to another, or do you refer to any item that is mated to a PR or MPH? I.e. is the responsibility shared by each element, or does one element have the responsibility? Can you quantify the expected amount of settling?

Proposers should not assume that elements will have settling capabilities.

Proposals should include capabilities for any item mated to another.

Information on lunar terrain can be found in the NASA Lunar Surface Data Book.

With regard to Appendix R+ Attachment A: White paper states that Figure 1 values include logistics and carrier masses.

What assumptions have been made on carriers (Crew Portable Carriers, Mateable Carriers)? Can you provide the breakdown between each one (logistics vs. carrier) or provide a clear way to understand the numbers in Figure 1, vs. the ranges in Attachment C Figure 1? Are Attachment A Figure 1 numbers including the values in Attachment C Figure 1 + carrier + utilization mass? Mass breakouts would be helpful.

A breakdown of logistics can be found in Appendix R Attachment C, Lunar Logistics Drivers and Needs white paper and approximate mass ranges intended to show scale and cadence can be found in Appendix R Attachment B, Lunar Mobility Drivers and Needs white paper.

Could the Government please clarify if the due date for the Appendix R proposal is October 18th, as noted in Section 4 or October 16 as noted on the cover page?

The proposals must be submitted by October 22, 2024. This will be clarified in the final Request for Proposal release.

43 Does the Government have an alternative method of proposal submission for companies that do not have Box access?

Updated information for the submission of electronic proposals will be provided in the final RFP. NASA will not accept hardcopy proposals.

Would the Government please provide additional clarification on how Government SME support and joint working groups shall be established?

Discussions on partnering with NASA will take place during the concept definition phase for NASA support during the concept maturation phase. This support can be in the form of Government Furnished Equipement or subject matter expert support. The discussions will include the associated cost of the NASA support.

If an Offeror responds to more than a single study topic, their proposal must only include a response to Study Topic #7:

Integrated Strategy.

CLINs 001-005 address considerations for discrete surface logistics systems. CLIN 006 addresses un-crewed surface mobility systems. CLIN 007 addresses an integrated architecture that considers multiple logistics and/or mobility systems.

CLIN 008 is reserved for Special Studies to be undertaken at NASA’s unilateral discretion and should not be bid against. Offerors may bid on a single CLIN, multiple CLINs, or all CLINs. The bid price for each CLIN shall not exceed $1,000,000, and in the event that multiple CLINs are bid against, the entire price for all bid CLINs shall not exceed $4,000,000.

If offerors are proposing multiple CLINs, does the price proposal of all CLINs need to be under CLIN 7? Or is each CLIN is required to have their own price proposal?

CLINs 001-005 address considerations for discrete surface logistics systems. CLIN 006 addresses un-crewed surface mobility systems. CLIN 007 addresses an integrated architecture that considers multiple logistics and/or mobility systems.

CLIN 008 is reserved for Special Studies to be undertaken at NASA’s unilateral discretion and should not be bid against. Offerors may bid on a single CLIN, multiple CLINs, or all CLINs. The bid price for each CLIN shall not exceed $1,000,000, and in the event that multiple CLINs are bid against, the entire price for all bid CLINs shall not exceed $4,000,000.

Additionally, if multiple CLINs are proposed, is the expectation that a separate TIM will be held for each CLIN or can they be consolidated into a single event at each of the milestones?

If multiple CLINs are proposed, NASA's preference would be to consolidate TIMs /milestones into a single event.

During Industry Day, Doug Craig indicated that the proposals should be focused on how the proposer will conduct analyses to develop concepts - not the concepts themselves at this point. The Draft solicitation reads differently. Can you please clarify expectations for the proposals and the focus of the proposals?

The proposals should be focused on how the proposer will conduct analyses to develop the concepts and not identify the concepts themselves. This will be clarified in the final solicitation.

In Attachment A_Appendix R.pdf in the first paragraph of section 3, the description of Study Topics (section 3), "If an Offeror responds to more than a single study topic, their proposal must only include a response to Study Topic #7: Integrated Study".

If responding to more than one CLIN, are we to reference/point to the other CLINs as part the CLIN 7 response?

CLINs 001-005 address considerations for discrete surface logistics systems. CLIN 006 addresses un-crewed surface mobility systems. CLIN 007 addresses an integrated architecture that considers multiple logistics and/or mobility systems.

CLIN 008 is reserved for Special Studies to be undertaken at NASA’s unilateral discretion and should not be bid against. Offerors may bid on a single CLIN, multiple CLINs, or all CLINs. The bid price for each CLIN shall not exceed $1,000,000, and in the event that multiple CLINs are bid against, the entire price for all bid CLINs shall not exceed $4,000,000.

What is the timeline for the logistics and mobility assets to be implemented on the lunar surface - i.e. starting in what year or tied to what Artemis Program milestone? Is there a phased approach of logistics asset deployment tied to Artemis program element's timeline?

NASA is seeking for innovative concepts for solutions for logistics and mobility systems not specifically tied to an Artemis Program milestone.

Please provide or define the infrastructure baseline that will be available for the lunar surface logistics and mobility assets to utilize such as power, comm/data/avionics, lighting, visual queues, etc

Current infrastructure baseline is outlined in Appendix Attachment E, Architecture Definition Document.

Please provide the standard interfaces that will be utilized for mating/transfer/power/thermal between logistics/mobility assets and fixed and/or planned lunar assets.

Please see the International Deep Space Standards for standards on nine interoperability areas. [https://internationaldeepspacestandards.com/]

If proposing a study with multiple CLINs, is it acceptable to price each CLIN's study separately as long as the total cost remains under $4 million?

e.g., CLIN 001: $200,000, CLIN 002: $1,000,000, CLIN 007: $ 500,000, Total $1,700,000 (Attachment+A_Appendix+R)

The proposals can propose a study for each CLIN not to exceed 1 million, however, the total proposal award cannot exceed 4 million. This will be clarified in the final Request for Proposal release.

In the scenario described above, is it possible that only some of the CLINs will be selected?

(Attachment+A_Appendix+R)

It is NASA's intent to award contracts based upon the overall quality of the offeror's proposal for all CLINs proposed. NASA will not be making partial awards to discrete CLINs (aka, "a la carte").

Please confirm this clause can be disregarded by a Contractor that qualifies as a "small business firm" (as defined in the clause). Similarly, subsection (h) will be disregarded for each subcontractor that qualifies as a "small business firm" (Model contract- 1852.227-70)

NFS clause 1852.227-70, New Technology Other than a Small Business Firm or Nonprofit Organization, is included in all NASA solicitations and contracts with other than a small business firm or a nonprofit organization (i.e., those subject to section 21035(b) of the Act), if the contract is to be performed in the United States, and has as a purpose the performance of experimental, developmental, research, design, or engineering work. If a resulting Appendix R contract is awarded to a Small Business, 1852.227-70 would not be applicable.

Please confirm this clause can be disregarded by a Contractor that qualifies as a "small business firm" (as defined in the clause). (Model contract NNH16ZCQ001K-Appendix-R- 1852.227-72)

NFS clause 1852.227-72, Designation of New Technology Representative and Patent Representative is included in all solicitations and contracts containing either of the clauses at FAR 52.227-11, Patent Rights—Ownership by the Contractor, or 1852.227-70, New Technology-Other than a Small Business Firm or Nonprofit Organization . If a resulting Appendix R contract is awarded to a Small Business, this clause would not be applicable.

Re subparagrah (b), since there is no “Default-Fixed-Price Supply and Service” clause, is the intent to read “Default (Fixed- Price Research and Development)” clause in lieu or disregard? (Model contract NNH16ZCQ001K-Appendix-R- 52.211-11)

Both Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.249-8 Default (Fixed-Price Supply and Service) (APR 1984) and 52.249-9 Default (Fixed-Price Research and Development) (APR 1984) are covered in the solicitation. Regarding FAR 52.211- 11 Liquidated Damages – Supplies, Services, or Research and Development.

(SEPT 2000), FAR 52.249-9 has the same effect as FAR 52.249-8 as it relates to this clause.

Please confirm whether the definition of "invention" is intended to include inventions or discoveries that may be patentable that the Contractor deems to be trade secret and does not wish to seek patent protection. (Model contract NNH16ZCQ001K- Appendix-R- 52.211-11)

The applicable definition of invention is found at 52-227-11(a).

The box folder (https://nasagov.box.com/s/ippvyfdrec7qd7bxf499yjhyxayylmrf) doesn't work. Could you prepare the alternative submission method? (Attachment+A_Appendix+R)

Updated information for the submission of electronic proposals will be provided in the final RFP. NASA will not accept hardcopy proposals.

For evaluating the variance in logistics needs, has NASA identified an expected landing elipse size for the cargo landing vehicles? This would help clarify minimum and maximum transport distance requirements.

Please see the Appendix R Attachment B, Lunar Mobility Drivers and Needs white paper.

I am interested in understanding the process for submitting an Intent to Bid. Could you provide any guidelines or documentation that outlines this process? During the presentation, it was mentioned to “Express your organizational intent to bid on future Lunar Logistics and Mobility Studies solicitations.” In this context, should I submit the Intent to Bid on behalf of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, or is this something that should come from our Office of Sponsored Research Administration? Additionally, what specific information should be included in the Intent to Bid documentation?

The intent to Bid should be submitted by the entity intending to propose via email to russellyn.hart-1@nasa.gov. It should include the name of the entity, POC, and POC title.

Please clarify in the solicitation whether NASA will be awarding all proposed CLINs, a subset of proposed CLINs, or whether or not CLINs are interdependent and NASA will only be awarding all CLINs or none to a specific bidder.

It is NASA's intent to award contracts based upon the overall quality of the offeror's proposal for all CLINs proposed. NASA will not be making partial awards to discrete CLINs (aka, "a la carte").

Please clarify wether pricing should be broken out by CLIN or if one total price for the combined multi-CLIN offer is acceptable.

The proposals can propose a study for each CLIN not to exceed 1 million, however, the total proposal award cannot exceed 4 million. This will be clarified in the final Request for Proposal release.

Certified cost and pricing data, as well as the proposal price build up requested in the solicitation for an FFP award may restrict non-traditional contractors (not subject to CAS) from bidding and limit the Government's potential pool of bidders.

Please confirm certified cost and pricing data will not be required.

Certified cost and pricing data for Appendix R contract award will not be required as long as it is determined that prices agreed upon are based on adequate price competition.

If NASA Centers or JPL are partnered with a company on this BAA, how will the Centers be funded? Option 1 would be would be through a task plan directly with NASA ESDMD SAO and the funding would be bypassed to a Center from NASA. Option 2 would be that the company would be required to establish a reimbursable SAA with NASA/Centers and Industry.

NASA will pay directly to government entities. It should be noted that the cost and scope of this support must be considered part of the proposal bid. This work cannot be in addition to the $1M cap on the individual CLINs.

The BAA says a company can submit one proposal. Can companies submit a prime bid and be listed as a subcontractor on someone else’s prime bid? NASA provided two conflicting answers during Industry Day. Can NASA please clarify whether a company may submit a prime bid and also be a subcontractor on another bid?

Providers may only submit 1 proposal as Prime but may be on other provider proposals as a subcontractor.

If a contractor bids on more than one CLIN as part of CLIN 7, is it possible that NASA would award one of those CLINs and not all the CLINs in the proposal? Example: A contractor bids on CLINs 2 and 6 and 7, could NASA award that contractor only

CLIN 2?

It is NASA's intent to award contracts based upon the overall quality of the offeror's proposal for all CLINs proposed. NASA will not be making partial awards to discrete CLINs (aka, "a la carte").

Will the slides be shared/available from the webinar yesterday? and if not, could you let me know the masses that we were told to avoid in the proposal?

The Industry day charts have been posted to SAM.gov

69 Can NASA please confirm the correct submittal date for proposals? RFP states both October 16 and 18 as due dates.

The proposals must be submitted by October 22, 2024. This will be clarified in the final Request for Proposal release.

70 Does a CLIN response need to cover all aspects listed in the CLIN description, or can it focus on a sub-set of the topics?

It is NASA's intent to award contracts based upon the overall quality of the offeror's proposal for all CLINs proposed. NASA will not be making partial awards to discrete CLINs (aka, "a la carte").

We would like clarification on the statement "if an offeror responds to more than a single study topic, their proposal must only include a response to Study Topic #7: Integrated Strategy." Does this statement mean that if we intend to propose on multiple CLINs, we must write a proposal only to CLIN 7 with aspects of the other CLINs included therein? Or, does this mean that if we propose multiple CLINs, we must also propose to CLIN 7? For example, if an offeror wants to propose to CLINs 2 and 6, do they submit a single proposal to CLIN 7 that includes aspects of CLINs 2 and 6; with no separate proposal sections for CLINs 2 and 6? Or, do they submit separate sections within the proposal for CLINs 2, 6, and 7?

CLINs 001-005 address considerations for discrete surface logistics systems. CLIN 006 addresses un-crewed surface mobility systems. CLIN 007 addresses an integrated architecture that considers multiple logistics and/or mobility systems.

CLIN 008 is reserved for Special Studies to be undertaken at NASA’s unilateral discretion and should not be bid against. Offerors may bid on a single CLIN, multiple CLINs, or all CLINs. The bid price for each CLIN shall not exceed $1,000,000, and in the event that multiple CLINs are bid against, the entire price for all bid CLINs shall not exceed $4,000,000.

Can NASA please clarify its statement "If an Offeror responds to more than a single study topic, their proposal must only include a response to Study Topic #7: Integrated Strategy." If we respond to CLIN 7, and include other CLINs in our content, can NASA clarify if they want one price for all of CLIN 7, or does NASA want to see the CLINs priced separately?

CLINs 001-005 address considerations for discrete surface logistics systems. CLIN 006 addresses un-crewed surface mobility systems. CLIN 007 addresses an integrated architecture that considers multiple logistics and/or mobility systems.

CLIN 008 is reserved for Special Studies to be undertaken at NASA’s unilateral discretion and should not be bid against. Offerors may bid on a single CLIN, multiple CLINs, or all CLINs. The bid price for each CLIN shall not exceed $1,000,000, and in the event that multiple CLINs are bid against, the entire price for all bid CLINs shall not exceed $4,000,000.

If an offeror submits to CLIN 7 and includes other CLINs, can the CLIN 7 submittal be awarded more than $1M? For example:

an offeror submits CLIN 7 but also includes CLINs 2 and 6, could the total submit by as much as $4M? Or would it be as much as $3M?

The proposals can propose a study for each CLIN not to exceed 1 million, however, the total proposal award cannot exceed 4 million. This will be clarified in the final Request for Proposal release.

During Industry Day, NASA indicated that it is only looking for approaches to get to solutions and not solutions in the proposals. Is NASA looking for the proposals to only discuss the approach to getting to requirements and data outputs by the end of the 12 month contract study? Or is NASA expecting initial concepts in the proposal with final concepts, requirements and data at the end of the study contract in 12 months?

The proposals should be focused on how the proposer will conduct analyses to develop the concepts and not identify the concepts themselves. This will be clarified in the final solicitation.

I am writing to confirm that there is no penalty, per se’, if we submit an intent to propose on subject opportunity and later learn that competing priorities prevent us from submitting to the final proposal…please confirm there are no penalties for such a situation occurring.

There are no penalty on submiting an intent to propose on a subject and then not proposing to it. The intent to bid is just a tool NASA is using to identify potential work load for the evaluation of the proposals.

In the event of award and if the prime has included teammates from NASA or FFRDCs, can we assume that NASA will use the funding bypass as the contractual mechanism for the NASA or FFRDC labor support in the amount specified in the proposal?

Meaning the balance of support will then be funded directly to the prime via contract.

NASA will pay directly to government entities. It should be noted that the cost and scope of this support must be considered part of the proposal bid. This work cannot be in addition to the $1M cap on the individual CLINs.

NASA indicated in the industry day held August 27 that questions related to the industry day presentation are due by August 30, and intent to bid notifications and draft solicitation comments are both due by September 6. However, Attachment A of the BAA states that all questions are due by September 3. Can you please confirm that August 30 and September 6 are the relevant due dates, and that the September 3 date reflected in the solicitation is OBE?

Questions were to be submitted by September 6, 2024 as stated in the Industry Charts that have been posted to SAM.gov

78 Is there an expected level of in-person attendance for the Study Deliverables?

The level of proposor's in-person attendance for the study deliverables should be determined by the proposor. Opportunities for technical exchange and milestone reviews are intended to be in-person events, but virtual participation can also be accomodated.

How is NASA taking the output of these BAA results into next steps for a contract or additional studies? Is there an expected follow-on to this BAA?

The BAA results will be incorporated into the overall NASA lunar logistics and mobility systems analyses activities implemented for the Strategic Analyses Cycle. There are currently no planned follow-on studies to this BAA.

Funding: the funding schedule is TBD in the contract. How is the funding schedule established? Do Contractors propose the schedule?

Offerors must identify their milestone payment schedule in their proposal. The Offeror’s Milestone Acceptance Criteria and Proposed Payments will be evaluated for consistency with the Offeror’s overall approach. The Offeror shall propose summaries of the type and magnitude of tasks and activities to be accomplished for each Government-mandated Milestone Review and interim milestones. The Offeror is reminded that FAR 32.1004(a) expressly prohibits the Offeror from identifying the signing of contracts (i.e., authority-to-proceed (ATP)) or the exercise of a contract option as a payment milestone.

Payment milestones: Attachment A, Appendix R states “The proposal shall include no fewer than two payment milestones: at contract start plus 60 days and at contract completion.” Can Contractors propose a milestone before contract start plus 60 days?

Yes, contractors can propose a milestone prior to contract start+60days.

However, please note that milestones may not occur prior to contract start, and milestones must must be justified by meaningful task accomplishment..

Deliverable acceptance process: Per the RFP, NASA has acceptance authority of our deliverables which allows us to invoice.

What is the deliverable acceptance process?

NASA personnel will evaluate the deliverables against the acceptance criteria to ensure deliverables meet contract requirements. Once those criteria are met, NASA will release the funding.

Section 3 of the draft RFP states offeror’s may respond to multiple study topics, however, it alsostates “Offeror responds to more than a single study topic, their proposal must only include aresponse to Study Topic #7: Integrated Strategy”. This conflicts with the CLIN structure for topicsand contract outlined in Section 6.1.2. Clarification on how to structure the response would allow higher quality offers.

Proposers can bid to the individual CLINs along with the integrated CLIN 007 or just the Integrated CLIN 007. The proposer should select the approach they believe to be the best for showing the value of their proposal.

Section 6.1.1, VII provides the instruction that overall price is not to exceed $1,000,000 per study, and $4,000,000 in total. Is this intended to be per CLIN? If a multiple topic response is limited to only responding to Topic #7 / CLIN 007 – this would limit multi-topic studies to $1,000,000, not $4,000,000. Clarification on how to comply with this pricing instruction would provide the ability to provide the best value to the US Government.

The proposals can propose a study for each CLIN not to exceed 1 million, however, the total proposal award cannot exceed 4 million. This will be clarified in the final Request for Proposal release.

Section 5.1 states that “NASA civil servants, … shall not be proposed as a Prime Contractor on any effort associated with this announcement but may participate as a team member” which would suggest that teaming with NASA is permissible while Section 6.1.2 states NASA participation is limited to: “Government engagement and provision of subject matter expertise for CLIN 001 activities will be limited to joint working group support.” and that“NASA will not provide material support … through mechanisms such as Government Task Agreements (GTAs), or any other type of Government engagement other than specified joint working groups that are utilized at NASA’s unilateral discretion.” Which would preclude industry teaming with NASA personnel. Clarification around the inclusion of NASA participants in the study would be appreciated and enable industry to best leverage NASA talent.

Discussions on partnering with NASA will take place during the concept definition phase for NASA support during the concept maturation phase. This support can be in the form of Government Furnished Equipement or subject matter expert support. The discussions will include the associated cost of the NASA support.

Clarification Request - Section 3 states "Offers may respond to...several...study topics. If an Offeror responds to more than a single study topic, their proposal must only include a response to Study Topic #7: Integrated Strategy." But Section 6.1.1 VII price proposal instructions state "…not to exceed $1M per study, and not to exceed $4M in total", which suggests the possibility of proposing multiple studies under multiple CLINs. Does NASA mean "...not to exceed $1M per study topic", such that a CLIN 007 proposal covering 4 study topics would constitute the maximum price of $4M? This question was asked during Industry Day but the answer was not clear. Page 6, Section 3 Page 11, Section 6.1.1 VII

Each CLIN should be priced out separately with the cap of $1M per CLIN with the total of all of the proposed CLINs not to exceed $4M.

The DRAFT Appendix R, Section 5.1 states “This Appendix is open to non-Government U.S. institutions (companies, universities, nonprofit organizations) only. ” Does this sentence apply to Prime Contractors only? Could a non-Government, non-US institution, specifically a European company, be included as a team member on an Appendix R proposal?

Please refer to Section 3 of the NextSTEP-2 BAA omnibus. Eligibility is described in Section 3 of the NextSTEP-2 Omnibus Broad Area Anouncement.

Please confirm that Offerors may provide a proposal as a prime as well as participate in the solicitation as a sub in another Offeror's proposal. This will help clarify the ability of Offeror's to participate in the solicitation. Attachment+A_Appendix+R, 3 Description of Study Topics

Proposing organizations may only submit one proposal; however, the organization may be part of multiple proposals as subcontractors.

Please clarify these sentences: "Offerors may respond to one, several or all study topics. If an Offeror responds to more than a single study topic, their proposal must only include a response to Study Topic #7: Integrated Strategy." Does this mean Offerors would propose CLIN007 as a $4M study if four topics are included? If so, does this sync with Section 6.1.1 "VII Price Proposal," which states "The price proposal shall include the overall firm fixed price not to exceed $1,000,000 per study, and not to exceed $4,000,000 in total."? This will clarify Offeror's understanding of the proposal scope and pricing model. As written, it is unclear how to structure and price proposed topics. Attachment+A_Appendix+R, 3 Description of Study Topics

CLINs 001-005 address considerations for discrete surface logistics systems. CLIN 006 addresses un-crewed surface mobility systems. CLIN 007 addresses an integrated architecture that considers multiple logistics and/or mobility systems.

CLIN 008 is reserved for Special Studies to be undertaken at NASA’s unilateral discretion and should not be bid against. Offerors may bid on a single CLIN, multiple CLINs, or all CLINs. The bid price for each CLIN shall not exceed $1,000,000, and in the event that multiple CLINs are bid against, the entire price for all bid CLINs shall not exceed $4,000,000.

Please clarify the page count for Approach to Conducting Studies (Section IV). Is this section limited to 25 pages regardless of the number of topics proposed? Limiting page count for a proposal responding to more than one topic may unnecessarily constrain the information provided. Attachment+A Appendix+R, 6.1.1 Proposal Format and Contents.

The page count for Section IV is limited to 25 pages regardless of the number of topic proposed.

Please confirm that the maximum price per proposal may not exceed $4M; however, due to Offeror's participation in more than one contract as both a prime and a sub, an Offeror may be awarded more than $4M total across multiple contracts. This will clarify Offeror's understanding of the proposal scope and pricing model. Attachment+A_Appendix+R, 6.1.1 Proposal Format and Contents

Proposing organizations may only submit one proposal; however, the organization may be part of multiple proposals as subcontractors.

As a non-US company and per section 3.2.1 of the NextSTEP BAA: “… the direct purchase of supplies and/or services that do not constitute research from non-U.S. sources by U.S. award recipients is permitted.” Could you clarify what NASA considers as “services that do not constitute research”? Specifically, does the purchase of consultancy services for a Concept Study fall within this permitted category? Additionally, Per section 3.2.2, proposals from outside the U.S. are permitted (although, foreign entities are not eligible for funding from NASA). Is this valid for this RFP. Please advise.

The analysis activities for this soliciation is considered research and as such any study support would likewise be considered research. Yes, section 3.2.2 is valid for this RFP.