Interest in Moon exploration has grown substantially in the last years, positioning the Moon as an attractive place to develop the required technologies and capabilities for human Deep Space exploration. Moon exploration is therefore now emerging as the next global strategic priority in space exploration and the latest developments are expected to further support highly ambitious government and commercial missions. 

Unlike the first time to the Moon in the 1960s with a race to plant the flag, the permanent return to the Moon comes with an entirely different perspective and approach, highly focused on cost effectiveness, and a shift from institutionally procured missions to the procurement of industrial services to support sustained lunar operations. This in turn opens opportunities for commercial/public-private partnerships.

All missions require transportation as well as communications and navigation functions. The Moonlight Programme focuses on those last two functions and, despite the numerous missions planned for the Moon, no global dedicated infrastructure is yet available to provide communications and navigation functions. As a result, every individual mission is currently planning its own custom solution for communication and Earth-ranging based navigation, a duplication that is inherently inefficient and leads to complex and costly solutions for every mission. 

MOONLIGHT PROGRAMME 

The Moonlight Programme will focus on the development of new communications (Coms) and navigation (Nav) services to be provided to those many missions on and around the Moon through a dedicated infrastructure that is to be deployed. 

The programme aims to enable the provision of long term self-sustained cislunar Com and Nav services. To achieve this, the programme relies on a public-private partnership (PPP) model, involving the private sector to play a prominent role in developing and operating the infrastructure as well as providing Coms and Nav services on and around the Moon on a commercial basis. This approach gives industry the freedom to optimise the design solution to address cislunar Com and Nav services needs at large, reducing the life cycle costs for the agency. Through the programme, the Agency therefore plans to procure Com and Nav services (acting as an anchor customer) as well as provide co-funding for the development and deployment of an initial infrastructure. The services developed are to be provided not only to ESA but to any other public or private customer entity worldwide. At this stage, the use cases are expected to be mainly fuelled by institutional programmes in a first phase of the Moon exploration, progressively being complemented by partly or fully private initiatives in a medium/longer term. In this context, the PPP allows industry to embark on the endeavour of providing the two functions as services. With time, the aim is for a self-sustained infrastructure of the private partner with growing revenues generated by growing institutional and private Coms and Nav needs.

The Agency has already initiated the Lunar Pathfinder project[1] that will act as a powerful showcase with an initial step of service delivery for Cislunar Communication and demonstration of Navigation Technologies in 2025. In continuity with this first step, the Moonlight Lunar Communications and Navigation Services (LCNS) infrastructure aims to bring a complete suite of both services. 

Through phase A/B1 system studies, the Agency has assessed the case for a private delivery of cislunar Coms and Nav services through the Moonlight LCNS infrastructure and is now proposing to proceed with the implementation of the infrastructure development and follow-on service delivery. Moonlight will be part of the ESA proposals to be approved and funded at the occasion of the ESA Conference at Ministerial level of November 2022 (CM22) to be followed by the Moonlight LCNS Invitation to Tender (ITT) in December 2022.

Along with the establishment of the PPP, the Moonlight programme also aims at providing support to development activities related to cislunar Coms and/or Nav Technologies and Products at large and not already covered by the PPP. This will allow the Agency to prepare European future advanced technologies and also to support any individual industry entity wishing to develop their own cislunar Com and/or Nav related product in view of the Lunar Market.

SCOPE OF THE RFI

This Request for Information (RFI) is articulated around the two main categories of activities: 

• Category 1 those related to the PPP project including all activities required for the full development of the infrastructure needed as well as for the Service provision,
• Category 2 those related more generically to Technologies and Product activities. 

Category 1: PPP project activities:

This RFI provides a high-level description of the main principles for the execution of the PPP. Key documentation describing the required Services are also provided. This information is for consideration by Industry to initiate preparation for the Moonlight PPP ITT, with regards to both the technical definition of the infrastructure and identification and interactions with various entities in view of forming bidding consortium. 

Based on the information provided, the present RFI is soliciting a description of the consortia and their potential partner entities intending to respond to the PPP ITT. This will provide the Agency valuable inputs in advance of the Ministerial Conference on the potential involvement and roles of industry across Europe in this endeavour.

Through this RFI the Agency also aims to collect feedback on the draft Services requirements documents provided (RD1 and RD2). This feedback will also be valuable to further shape the PPP ITT intended to be issued by end of 2022. 

Category 2: Technologies and Product activities:

This RFI provides a high-level description of the main principles of the support to Technologies and Product development activities not already covered within the PPP project. The present RFI is therefore also an opportunity for the Agency to collect information and build a European landscape of entities with competencies and ambitions specific to cis-lunar Com and Nav solutions. This will provide the Agency valuable inputs in advance of the Ministerial Conference on the potential involvement and roles of industry across Europe in the Moonlight programme beyond the PPP Project activities. 

RFI AUDIENCE 

This RFI is open to responses from entities based in ESA Member States. 

Category 1: PPP project activities:

The respondent entities should be only those considering responding to the PPP ITT planned for end of 2022, with the ambition to take on the role of service provision (the Partner Service Provider) and leading a full consortium to include all the entities in charge of developing the infrastructure required. 

The return to Moon at large naturally relies on a context of international co-operations. Such international Industrial co-operation scenarios may apply to the Moonlight PPP project, and if any, can therefore be reported in the response to the RFI (for example co-operation with non-European entities to use their assets as part of the infrastructure solution considered by the potential bidder). The respondents also may wish to contact industries involved in the Lunar Pathfinder project[1] to obtain further information and investigate any potential synergies.

Category 2: the Technologies and Product activities:

The respondents may be any ESA Member States entity with competencies and ambitions towards cis-lunar Com and Nav Technologies and Products development and interested in a potential support from the Agency within the Moonlight programme.

DESCRIPTION OF THE OPPORTUNITY

Category 1: PPP project activities:

A competitive Invitation to Tender for Moonlight LCNS is planned to be issued by end 2022 to establish a public-private partnership (PPP). The main principles of of both the ITT and the execution of the project are described in details in the attached document  ("Moonlight pre CM22 RFI.pdf"  see section 2)

Category 2: Technologies and Product activities:

With respect to Technologies, the Moonlight programme plans to provide support in ways of Agency workplans that will offer fully funded activities targeting medium to long term perspectives. These will be subject to open competitions. 

For Product focussed activities, individual industries will be able to solicit Agency support for the development of their products in view of a market opportunities. These will be co-funded activities. 

RFI PROCESS

Respondents to this RFI are encouraged to inform the relevant ESA Member State delegation of their response in order to raise awareness of delegations in view of the CM22. 

The Agency also reserves the right to stop or modify as necessary this process at any time.

Category 1: Respondents to the PPP project activities:

There is no selection process as the RFI responses will be used solely to help prepare the CM22 and PPP ITT data package. The PPP ITT planned end of 2022 shall not be restricted to the Respondents to this RFI.

Moonlight PPP project consortium leader Notice of Interest 

- to be submitted no later than 28th October 2022

This RFI is soliciting a Notice of Interest providing information describing the potential consortia of entities intending to bid in response to the Moonlight LCNS PPP Invitation to Tender planned shortly after CM22. The Notice of Intent does not bind the Respondent to bid to the PPP ITT nor does it bind its identified constituting consortia entities to take part of the bidding consortia. The template for the Notice of Intent is in Annex 1. 

Moonlight PPP Service Requirements and ConOps documents feedback

- to be submitted no later than 11th November 2022 

The RFI is also soliciting technical feedback on the documentation provided for the Services specified (RD 1) and (RD 2). The template for providing this feedback is in Annex 2.

Category 2: Respondents to the Technologies and Product development activities:

There is no selection process as the RFI responses will be used solely to help prepare the CM22. 

Moonlight Technologies and Product entity Notice of Interest 

- to be submitted no later than 28th October 2022 

This RFI is soliciting a Notice of Interest providing information describing their competence and ambitions for technology and product developments. The template for the Notice of Intent is in Annex 3. 

Additional information or answers to the feedback may be provided by the Agency. In this case, this information will be communicated and shared by the Agency with all entities having sent a Notice of Interest (for the PPP project and for the Technologies and Product activities separately).

Furthermore, the Respondents’ attention is drawn to the following:

• The response to the present RFI shall be in English.  
• Expenses incurred in the preparation and dispatch of the RFI response will not be reimbursed. 

ESA may also contact individual respondents to request further information on their submission.

DISCLAIMER

This RFI does not bind ESA to any present or future procurement actions nor does it create any rights for respondents in relation to any present or future ESA procurements.

The Agency will treat commercially sensitive or proprietary information accordingly. For the purpose of preparing the CM22, the Agency may notify the relevant Member States of potential activities from individual entities related to Moonlight but without reference to any consortium. 

DATA PROTECTION

ESA will use any personal data included in the responses to this RFI (e.g. names and contact details) exclusively for contacting the respondents in case it becomes necessary in relation to their submission. ESA will not disclose those personal data to third parties without prior agreement of the party that had submitted their response, as per ESA’s Personal Data Protection Policy (RD 3).

REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

RD 1  Draft Moonlight ESA ConOps (attached to this RFI)
RD 2  Draft Moonlight ESA Service Requirement Document (attached to this RFI)
RD 3  ESA Personal Data Protection Framework,            
           https://esastar-publication-ext.sso.esa.int / under “Supporting Documentation” -> “Reference Documentation” -> “Administrative Documents”)