U.S. space agency officials have released a draft request for design support for the Altair lunar lander vehicle, part of NASA's Constellation Program.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said it's Altair lunar lander will deliver four astronauts to the moon's surface late in the next decade, fulfilling U.S. space exploration goals.

"The Altair Conceptual Design Contract will define operational concepts, support requirements reviews and refine design concepts for the Altair vehicle," NASA said, noting the document is a draft of the final version of the request for proposal, expected in late January. The industry input received will be combined with NASA's expertise for potential inclusion in the final request for proposal, officials said.

A pre-solicitation conference is scheduled Thursday at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. A copy of the draft request for proposal and additional information is available at http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/altair.