Partnering Opportunity for the Surface Mobility Lidar (SML)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC) is hereby soliciting information from potential partners to participate in a proposal development activity that addresses the technical objectives, development, and demonstration of the Surface Mobility Lidar (SML) in response to an Early Career Initiative (ECI) sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), released on January 13, 2026.

Participation in this partnering synopsis is open to all categories of U.S. and non-U.S. organizations, including educational institutions, industry, not-for-profit institutions, and other U.S. Government Agencies. Participation by non-U.S. organizations is welcome but subject to NASA’s policy of no exchange of funds, in which each government supports its own national participants and associated costs.

NASA LaRC is seeking partners to participate in developing proposals and collaborating on potential ECI projects. LaRC is pursuing several topic areas that align with NASA’s space technology priorities and involve a variety of technical areas that could benefit from partnering.  Potential partners must respond to the technical challenge described below.

2D detector Array and ROIC: A 2D detector array and Readout Integrated Circuit (ROIC) capable of measuring Time-of-Flight of photons for each pixel at 20 Hz or higher is required. The partner must develop a 2D array to measure range to target with measurement noise of 2.5 cm or better in each pixel. The detector must have contrast of 10 dB or larger. Dynamic range of 20 dB and larger is preferred. If the detector is susceptible to damage by the laser, describe any mitigations or preferred Concepts of Operations (ConOps) that are required for reliable operation. A rectangular aspect ratio (e.g. 64×256) is preferred to a square aspect ratio. A square aspect ratio must be at least 128×128 pixels. An external bandpass filter will be used to block unwanted light. Potential partners must describe any sensitivity or concerns with sunlight. A wide operating temperature is desired to extend the operating time in a variety of environmental conditions. Potential partners should clearly state thermal interface and heat removal requirements.

Partner must deliver a packaged camera (detector, ROIC, lens mount, and associated control electronics) with a trigger output and an electrical or optical input for time reference. If a packaged camera is not possible within the delivery timeframe, proposals may be considered if the future development path is clearly defined, the challenges and risks are identified, and testing and evaluation methods and rationales are described. Since this detector will be used on a rover it is important that partners focus on reducing the size as much as possible. An external chassis is not required since the camera will be combined with other components of the SML lidar.

The target delivery timeframe is 16 months or less.

Alternative approaches and implementations may be considered. Please provide rationale for your chosen design and why it is suitable for the extended operation in the harsh lunar environment.

Ideal industry partners must have experience in space-flight instrument development and demonstrate interest and capabilities in advancing low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) technologies to TRL 5 or higher.

The partner must provide expertise in technical challenge described above and must have the personnel and facilities required to perform any necessary software or hardware testing. The ideal partner may contribute some, but not all, work or resources to the project in-kind, which must be described within the partner’s proposal submission.

This partnering opportunity does not guarantee selection for award of any contracts or other agreements, nor is it to be construed as a commitment by NASA to pay for the information solicited. It is expected that the partner(s) selected would provide (at no cost to NASA) technical requirements, conceptual designs, technical data, proposal input, project schedules, and cost estimates. If the proposal is subsequently selected, NASA LaRC anticipates issuing contracts or other agreements to the selected partner(s) for the performance of the proposed tasks.

Partner selections will be made by LaRC based on the listed criteria in the following order of importance:

(1) Expertise. Experience relevant to detector and ROIC development and evaluation, and spaceflight technology development.

(2) Technology solutions and technical approach. This criterion evaluates the proposed technology solution and implementation techniques based on the specifications noted above.
(3) Costs. The partner must provide reasonable and realistic cost estimates for the technology solution being offered.

(4) Amenable to collaborative solutions. This criterion evaluates how the partner intends to collaborate with NASA LaRC personnel to iterate design ideas to arrive at appropriate technological solutions and test environments.

(5) Facilities. This criterion evaluates the partner’s facilities (for development, fabrication, testing, and analyses) to conduct the development, manufacture, or demonstration of the proposed task. The partner must discuss availability of facilities.

NASA will not reimburse organizations for the cost of submitting information in response to this partnering opportunity. NASA will not pay for technical assessment or proposal preparation costs incurred by the respondent.

RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS: Interested firms having the capabilities necessary to meet the above requirements must submit a capability statement of no more than five (5)pages (exclusive of resumes of key personnel and a cover page) in not less than 12-point font and 1-inch margins, indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort. The 5-page limit is the total pages allowed for the technical areas described above, however your facilities summary and cost tables can be outside of the 5-page limit. Facilities and Cost tables shall not exceed three (3) pages. Additional guidance: For proposal purposes, assume this will be a fixed price opportunity with a cost cap of $350,000 per year.

Responses must address each of the aforementioned evaluation criteria. Please advise if the requirement is a commercial item or commercial-type product. A commercial item is defined in FAR 2.101.

All responses shall be submitted electronically via e-mail to Esther Lee at esther.lee@nasa.gov and to Aram Gragossian at aram.gragossian@nasa.gov no later than 4:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) February 20th, 2026.

This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited.  Respondents will be notified of the results of the evaluation. Respondents deemed fully qualified will be considered in any resultant partnering selections for the requirement.