Utah Reusable Root Module (URRM)

NASA's Kennedy Space Center has issued a Special Notice for the Utah Reusable Root Module (URRM), a flight-ready, reusable space crop rooting module designed to integrate with NASA's Ohalo III test rig for growing crops on the International Space Station. The agency intends to award a sole source contract to Utah State University under FAR 6.302-1, citing that only one responsible source exists for this specialized technology. This notice serves as a market research tool to determine whether other organizations possess the unique capabilities and qualifications needed to complete the final design, documentation, fabrication, and delivery of the URRM hardware. The contracting opportunity falls under the NAICS code 541715 for Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences, with a PSC category of R425 for professional engineering and technical support services.

The primary purpose of this Special Notice is to identify potential competitors who could challenge NASA's justification for sole source procurement to Utah State University, which originally developed the URRM technology under a competitively awarded NASA Research Grant. Interested organizations must submit their capabilities and qualifications electronically to Tammy Clark at tammy.k.clark@nasa.gov by 2:00 PM ET on February 25, 2025. NASA will evaluate these submissions solely to determine whether the acquisition should be conducted on a competitive basis rather than as a sole source award. The URRM represents part of NASA's broader initiative to demonstrate continuous crop production capabilities in space, specifically supporting agricultural research and food security for long-duration space missions. Organizations responding must demonstrate they possess the specialized skills, knowledge, and expertise that USU acquired during the initial technology development process to qualify as viable alternatives for this highly specialized space agriculture hardware.