"By soliciting ideas and suggestions from industry and the science community, NASA hopes to foster a collaborative environment during this early design effort," said Jeff Hanley, the Constellation Program manager. "Such collaboration will support the development of a safe, reliable and technologically sound vehicle for our crews."

NASA is seeking responses in two primary areas before the release of a prime contract for lunar lander design, development, test and evaluation. Those areas include an evaluation of NASA's current developmental concept and innovative safety improvements, and recommendations for industry-government partnerships.

This broad agency announcement will be open to industry for 30 days from the issue date of Jan. 11.

NASA expects to award study contracts in the first quarter of 2008. A total of $1.5 million is available for awards. The maximum individual award amount is $350,000. The contract performance period is six months.

The Constellation Program, based at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, manages the Altair Project for NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Constellation is developing a new space transportation system that is designed to travel beyond low Earth orbit. The Constellation fleet includes the Orion crew exploration vehicle, the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles and Altair human lunar lander.

Students Gear Up For NASA's Annual Great Moonbuggy Race
Huntsville, AL - NASA is looking for a fast set of wheels. The 15th annual Great Moonbuggy Race is set for April 4-5. During the race, dozens of high school and college teams careen around a track at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. They pilot wheeled rovers of their own design, and perhaps launch their future as the next generation of lunar explorers.

More than 40 student teams from 18 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada and India have already registered. The student competitors design, build and race their very own lightweight, two-person lunar vehicles. The buggies are modeled after the historic rovers that Americans first drove on the lunar surface during the Apollo 15 mission in 1971. The teams exhaustively test their creations to ensure the sometimes delicate vehicles can negotiate the punishing terrain of the half-mile, obstacle-strewn course.

"The experience is more than just fun. Participation in the race offers valuable real-world experience in practical engineering, teamwork and problem-solving," said Tammy Rowan, manager of the Academic Affairs Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, which organizes and hosts the race along with the Space and Rocket Center. "These talented, creative young minds learn lessons they'll take back with them to the classroom - and hopefully onward throughout their careers and their lives."

Students race their human-powered vehicles in time trials across a simulated moon surface. Moonbuggies race against the clock, rather than side-by-side. The event is open to the public.

The three fastest-finishing moonbuggies in both the high school and college categories win prizes from the race sponsors. Students win additional awards for the most unique moonbuggy design, best overall design, most improved team, best rookie team and most spirited team.

Only eight college teams participated in the first Great Moonbuggy Race in 1994. That event commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. The race was expanded in 1996 to include high school teams.

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