NASA’s BAA for technologies in support of the VSE hints that the agency is thinking beyond a lunar flags-and-footprints redux — NASA Issues Call For Moon, Mars And Beyond Technologies:
One other area that has been long-supported in talk but not enough dollars is use of local resources — on the Moon, Mars, or other celestial locales — to sustain future human explorers.
As explained in the BAA, and under NASA’s Lunar and Planetary Surface Operations (LPSO) Technology effort, the space agency is on the lookout for resource utilization systems.
“Technology areas of potential interest include excavation, extraction, collection, beneficiation technologies for lunar and/or Martian resources.”
The NASA BAA notes this call for proposals includes solids and/or gases; reconfigurable, modular chemical process technologies for on-the-spot oxygen and/or propellant production from lunar or Mars resources; and technologies for local production of structural feedstock materials from lunar and/or Martian resources.
Furthermore, the NASA document stresses the need for surface manufacturing and construction systems.
Technologies of interest include those for the production of structural components using either “imported” feedstock or available lunar and/or Martian resources; autonomous or tele-operated robotic technologies for surface facility assembly and maintenance; and, technologies for off-Earth creation of solar photovoltaic systems or other energy systems.
The BAA itself is available here, and is well worth reading to get a better idea of what NASA has in mind.