The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said it has issued a Request for Information "to gauge interest and solicit ideas from private companies in providing communications and navigation services that would support the development of exploration, scientific and commercial capabilities on the moon over the next 25 years."

NASA said it plans to establish science stations on the lunar surface as soon as 2013, followed by the return of humans to the moon and establishment of the first lunar outpost in 2020. Communications, networking and navigation capabilities required to support these efforts will be provided by NASA, other national space agencies, private industry or some combination.

The space agency said the information it's seeking "is for planning purposes only as this RFI is one step of a larger study that will culminate in a final NASA report addressing strategies for the commercial co-development of lunar communications and navigation."

The Request for Information is available at https://www.spacecomm.nasa.gov/spacecomm/.