WASHINGTON - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is seeking industry input on commercial communications technologies to support a revised Artemis III mission concept, with a focus on high-rate data transmission from the Orion crew vehicle in low Earth orbit.
The request for information, issued by NASA’s Moon to Mars Program, targets secondary communications systems capable of augmenting Orion’s primary link, which faces reduced data rates under the mission’s updated low Earth orbit profile. NASA is evaluating commercially available or near-term services and user terminals that can deliver near-continuous connectivity and high-bandwidth data return during critical mission phases such as rendezvous and docking.
The agency is specifically interested in systems capable of supporting downlink speeds exceeding 12 megabits per second, with a goal of 20 to 50 megabits per second, alongside uplink capability above 500 kilobits per second. These performance thresholds are driven in part by requirements for live 4K video transmission and large data file transfers during crewed operations.
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Integration aims
NASA is emphasizing solutions that can be rapidly deployed within tight program timelines. Proposed systems must interface with Orion via Ethernet-based data and control links, operate within a 28-volt DC power architecture consuming less than 90 watts, and meet size and weight targets of less than 20 kilograms and approximately 22 by 18 by 18 inches in volume.
The agency is considering both externally mounted and internally deployed architectures. External systems would be installed on the Orion crew module adapter and must operate without active cooling or post-integration access, while internal configurations could be crew-deployed in orbit, potentially using window-mounted antennas and modular hardware components.
Space relay needs
In addition to terminal hardware, NASA is requesting detailed information on supporting space-relay architectures, including constellation design, ground infrastructure, and cloud-based data handling. Respondents are expected to provide quantitative link budgets, coverage analyses, reliability projections, and schedules for engineering unit and flight hardware delivery.
While NASA has previously outlined Artemis III as a lunar mission involving operations in lunar orbit, the agency notes that the mission profile is still being finalized. For the purposes of this request, respondents are asked to consider a summer 2027 mission scenario in low Earth orbit at approximately 250 nautical miles and 33 degrees inclination to support rendezvous and docking demonstrations with commercial lunar landers.
Responses to the request for information are due by 29 May 2026 at 5 p.m. Eastern. NASA also plans to host an industry day at Johnson Space Center in Houston on 19 May 2026, with opportunities for one-on-one meetings with prospective providers. The agency named Claude Davis as the primary point of contact for this RFI. They can be reached via email at [email protected]. More information is available at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/09d088e89d824b98bb5485c683dcbfbc/view.
