Prepares for Transition from Lunar Exploration to Crewed Mars Missions

As NASA begins to work its way through the Artemis lunar exploration campaign, it has released new information on how it is preparing for crewed missions to Mars. The latest documents include revisions stemming from a recent Architecture Concept Review.

“NASA’s Architecture Concept Review process is critical to getting us on a path to mount a human mission to Mars,” explained NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free. “We’re taking a methodical approach to mapping out the decisions we need to make, understanding resource and technological trades, and ensuring we are listening to feedback from stakeholders.”

The Architecture Concept Review led NASA to update its Architecture Definition Document. This includes technical approaches and steps for the agency’s space exploration plan, a revised executive overview, and twelve new white papers detailing results from the review.

The twelve white papers provided insight into both lunar and Mars exploration developments. Since the agency has a more advanced understanding of the moon, the topics discussed were more familiar and included gaps in cargo transportation, analyses of existing studies, and other considerations. Mars-related topics are still broad, like landing challenges, objectives, and partnerships.

One especially significant white paper reveals NASA’s decision to utilize fission power as its primary source of crew-sustaining power once on the Martian surface. Fission power, a form of nuclear power, is an accessible and reliable source, can meet the power needs of a variety of missions, and is seen as an affordable option. It is also unaffected by day and night cycles or harsh conditions, like dust storms, on Mars. This marks the first of seven crucial choices for human Mars exploration.

“Identifying and analyzing high-level architecture decisions are the first steps to realizing a crewed Mars exploration campaign,” said Catherine Koerner, associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Each yearly assessment cycle as part of our architecture process is moving us closer to ensuring we have a well thought out plan to accomplish our exploration objectives.”

NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions will create a foundation for long-term lunar explorations and set the stage for crewed missions to the Red Planet.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/moontomarsarchitecture