August 13, 2020 - This notice is modified to extend the response due date to 08/21/2020 at 3PM Pacific. August 10, 2020 - This notice is modified to include attachment "RFI Questions and Answers dated 08/10/2020 ." 1. SUMMARY The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is seeking information under this Request for Information (RFI) to assess availability of potential developers of tunable laser spectroscopy sensor technology for monitoring carbon dioxide, oxygen, and water vapor to be proven on the International Space Station (ISS) and for potential use on NASA’s Gateway, Mars transport, and lunar and Mars surface habitats. The NASA Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) program pioneers new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities, and validation operation concepts for future human missions beyond low-Earth orbit. AES activities are uniquely related to crew safety and mission operations in deep space and are strongly coupled to future vehicle development. Responses to this RFI are sought broadly from U.S. industry, universities, non-profit organizations, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, NASA centers, and other U.S. government agencies and will be used by NASA to further inform planning and acquisition strategy development. 2. BACKGROUND AES seeks to advance NASA’s capability for human habitation, vehicle systems, and foundational systems for deep space. These activities are coupled with understanding gaps in current technology, human habitation systems, and crew health and how investment in new technologies can fill these gaps. Advances in semiconductor laser technology, such as room-temperature mid-infrared operation, has enabled tunable laser spectrometers to be miniaturized and employed in demanding space applications such as trace gas measurements on Mars. The application of this technology towards human exploration shows similar promise. In particular, it is desired to use portable tunable laser spectrometers to improve understanding of CO2, O2, and water vapor in a crewed spacecraft cabin. This will aid in defining standards that address crew health and performance, guide the implementation of those standards as verifiable engineering requirements, and assist in developing approaches to vehicle operations and management. The distribution of these gases in a crewed spacecraft cabin may contribute to the many symptoms commonly associated with sick building syndrome which can include experiencing headaches, lethargy, and congestion [1-4]. These conditions may exist in isolated zones with poor ventilation such as private crew quarters or under specific crew metabolic load conditions such as during intense exercise periods [5]. Providing a healthy environment for the crew depends on applying the appropriate standards and corporate knowledge to the engineered solution. Standards relative to acceptable cabin conditions for maintaining human health, performance, and safety are provided by the NASA Spaceflight Human-System Standard (NASA-STD-3001, Vol. 2, Revision B). Further guidance is provided by the NASA Human Integration Design Handbook (HIDH) (NASA/SP-2010-3407, Revision 1, 2014)[6] relative to cabin ventilation and human metabolic loads and demands. These standards and guidance are used in combination to define verifiable engineering requirements and to develop operational protocols for the crewed spacecraft. While the standards and guidance are helpful, they lack a clear treatment of spatiotemporal variation of key gas-phase chemicals in their adaptation to verifiable engineering requirements. As such, new knowledge must be acquired to implement the standards and design guidance as an engineered system. Both NASA-STD-3001, Vol. 2, Revision B [7] and NASA/SP-2010-3407, Revision 1 provide background and rationale that is best unified via experimental efforts that employ portable tunable laser spectrometers for monitoring CO2, O2, and water vapor. Portable sensors will provide insight for adapting the cabin air quality standards as verifiable engineering requirements. A quantitative study, via empirical results from portable, distributed sensors correlating trace gas measurements at known locations with observations of human factors, will provide great value in solidifying requirements for human exploration environmental monitoring. Tunable Laser Spectroscopy is experiencing rapid growth in utilization for environmental air monitoring, in part driven by the increasing availability of mid-IR lasers emitting at wavelengths for key trace gases such as CO2, O2, and water vapor. The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of lasers and associated hybrid-packaged components has risen to the point that they have been used in NASA and ESA science missions and are now starting to be used for human spaceflight environmental monitoring, the latter with associated strict requirements for performance and reliability. The attraction of tunable laser spectroscopy for human exploration arises from its sensitivity (parts-per-billion), low power (less than a few watts), fast response (>10 Hz), relative freedom from calibration and consumables, and immunity from interference from other trace gases. Much of the trace gas monitoring needs (including CO2, H2O, O2, CH4, HCl, HCN, HF, NH3, N2H4) for human exploration can be done with relatively small instruments weighing a few kg or less. 2.1. Portable Tunable Laser Spectrometers for Human Habitation Vehicles (PTLS-HHV) Overview It is anticipated that PTLS-HHV will provide a delivery opportunity to ISS in 2023. PTLS-HHV will operate in several stages. First, this RFI requests information on the willingness and capability of developers to provide multiple tunable laser spectrometers (greater than 5) as well as the technology uniting these sensors into a single real-time operating network (e.g. can be a wireless Zigbee mesh) within a development plan of 1-2 years. These RFI responses will allow NASA to understand the feasibility, cost, and schedule of developing and deploying multiple portable sensors and the desired network. It will also assess the feasibility of using U.S. and Canadian optoelectronics suppliers which is desired for NASA flight projects. The second stage is to issue a request for proposal (RFP) that incorporates realistic, achievable project constraints, and timeline based on the responses of the RFI. The third stage is to select a developer and implement a team consisting of the developer, NASA, and JPL to realize the selected solution. The realization of the solution includes validating the instruments and system space environmental monitoring and Class 1E requirements. The fourth stage is for the developer, NASA, and JPL to deploy the sensors on ISS. Deployment includes assessing instrument and network performance, analyzing timeseries data as it pertains to crew health, and conducting focused experiments exercising the capabilities of the sensors. PTLS-HHV is sponsored by NASA HEOMD. Selection of proposals will depend on available budget and priorities from each of the respective mission directorates. 2.2. Instrument and Deployment Goals Refer to Attachment 1 - Table 1. Measurement Specifications. Each individual sensor shall be subject to the following specifications: Measure CO2, H2O(v), O2, temperature, and pressure to the specifications in Table 1; Measure to these specifications throughout the ranges listed in Table 1. Make measurements of all three chemicals and T and P at 1 Hz; Be no larger than 13×8×8 cm, 650 g; Draw ≤ 2 W; Operate on a battery when detached from the main power bus so as to be able to be hand-carried; Build to NASA STD-7001 vibro-acoustic specifications, Class D. Demonstrate in the design a path-to-flight for Criticality 1 specifications which include Space-rated EEE approved electronics parts and radiation hardening to 15 krad (Si) and 75 MeV cm2 mg-1 latch-up immunity. Desired system level characteristics are as follows: At least five sensors; Employed within a network framework (e.g., Zigbee mesh) that communicates measurements of each sensor to a central controller as well as communication health; Utilize U.S. or Canadian components, including optoelectronics. These specifications flow from requirements laid out in the NASA Technical Standard Vol. 2 (NASA-STD-3001) [7] which include: The system shall maintain inspired oxygen partial pressure (ppO2) in accordance with Inspired Oxygen Partial Pressure Exposure Ranges; The system shall limit inspired CO2 partial pressure (ppCO2) to no more than 3 mmHg; Average relative humidity (RH) shall be maintained between 25% and 75% over each 24-hour period during all mission operations, excluding suited operations of less than 8 hours and post-landing through hatch opening; For each isolatable, habitable compartment, the system shall automatically record pressure, humidity, temperature, ppO2, and ppCO2 data; The system shall display real-time values for pressure, humidity, temperature, ppO2, and ppCO2 data to the crew; The system shall monitor atmospheric parameters, including atmospheric pressure, humidity, temperature, ppO2, and ppCO2 and alert (visual and audible) the crew when they are outside safe limits. 3. INFORMATION REQUESTED This RFI seeks investigation of components that address the engineering and implementation aspects of applying a portable tunable laser spectrometers for carbon dioxide, oxygen, and water vapor on human habitation platforms such as ISS, Gateway, Mars transport, and lunar and Mars surface habitats. 4. RESPONSE GUIDELINES Since this is a Request for Information, no evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI by submitting per Section 5. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION following the instructions below. The response text, exclusive of the one-page quad-chart summary described below, shall not exceed five (5) pages and shall use a minimum font size of 12 point. 4.1. Summary Quad Chart A “quad chart” shall be included with the response which shall outline the developer’s capabilities and readiness level. The quad chart shall precede the response and will not count against the response page limit. A template is provided with the release of this RFI. See Attachment 3: Quad Chart Template. The chart shall include at a minimum: PI name, affiliation, email, and telephone number; Image of investigation (if available); Mass/volume/power/communications requirements of investigation; Current TRL of investigation; Brief description of investigation capabilities and research goals. 4.2 5-Page Response Responses should include justification for how the proposed solution will advance the technical capability of NASA for such portable tunable laser spectrometers, and how these spectrometers will help provide valuable information of human habitation platform operations. 4.3. The following questions will be asked in a separate part of your submission form and will not count against your page limitation. 4.3.1. Entity information: name, contact information, indicate whether a U.S. entity, identify partners and Co-Is. 4.3.2. Details of the solution 1. Individual sensors: 1.1. Total Mass (in kg; including electronics, thermal, brackets, cabling, etc.) 1.2. Power (in W) 1.2.1. Peak Power 1.2.2. Operating Power 1.2.3. Standby Power 1.4. What is the development time from funding to delivery for integration? (in months) 1.4.1. Text box with more detail on delivery time 1.5. Cost Estimates 1.5.1. Total Rough Order of Magnitude estimate (ROM) to delivery (in $K) 1.6. Other human habitation vehicle configuration requirements (e.g., deployment away from noisy RF sources) 4.3.3. Describe the heritage and technology readiness level of the solution. Describe what kind of effort would be required to make it flight-ready 5. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION Prepare your response following the guidance provided in RFI Section 4, Response Guidelines, and email your response to JPL Subcontracts Manager Morgan Yu at
[email protected] with “PTLS-HHV RFI” in the subject line. 6. JPL POINTS OF CONTACT Email all questions to JPL Subcontracts Manager Morgan Yu at
[email protected] with “PTLS-HHV RFI” in the subject line. 7. REFERENCES Refer to Attachment 2 - References. DISCLAIMER: It is emphasized that this RFI is NEITHER a Request for Proposal, NOR an Invitation for Bid. This RFI is being used to obtain information for planning purposes only; therefore, NASA may not respond to the individual RFI responses. As stipulated in FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Pursuant to FAR 52.215-3, entitled Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes, this information is being made available for market research, information, and planning purposes and to allow potential proposers the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirements, as well as promote competition. This RFI is subject to review or cancellation at any time and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contract. The Government will not pay for the information submitted in response to this request, and respondents will not be notified of the results.