NASA Outlines Latest Moon to Mars Plans in 2024 Architecture Update

Dec 13, 2024

As NASA develops a blueprint for space exploration throughout the solar system for the benefit of humanity, the agency released several new documents Friday updating its Moon to Mars architecture. The roadmap sets NASA on course for long-term lunar exploration under the Artemis campaign in preparation for future crewed missions to Mars.

Following an Architecture Concept Review, the 2024 updates include a revision of NASA’s Architecture Definition Document which details technical approaches and processes of the agency’s exploration plans, an executive overview, and 12 new white papers on key Moon to Mars topics.

New additions this year also include a broader, prioritized list of key architecture decisions that need to be made early in NASA’s plans to send humans to the Red Planet. Two new elements are now part of the agency’s Moon to Mars architecture — a lunar surface cargo lander and an initial lunar surface habitat. The lunar surface cargo lander will deliver logistics items, science and technology payloads, communications systems, and more. The initial surface habitat will house astronauts on the lunar surface to extend the crew size, range, and duration of exploration missions and enable crewed and uncrewed science opportunities.

The newest revision of the Architecture Definition Document adds more information about NASA’s decision road mapping process — how the agency decides which decisions must be made early in the planning process based on impacts to subsequent decisions — and a list of architecture-driven opportunities that help technology development organizations prioritize research into new technologies that will enable the Moon to Mars architecture.

Moon to Mars Architecture: Learn More

Related Posts

Public Lecture: A Moon Base at Clavius

Public Lecture: A Moon Base at Clavius

THE TALK: A Moon Base at Clavius Establishing a fixed base on the Moon at a high southern latitude but off-polar site, with a versatile mobility system for surface and point-to-point transportation, would far more optimally serve the United States’ science,...

Day of Remembrance Ceremony 2025

Day of Remembrance Ceremony 2025

On NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's DayofRemembrance, we honor those who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery. We join NASA in remembering the crews of Apollo 1, Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51L), and Space...

STARSHIP’S Seventh Flight Test

STARSHIP’S Seventh Flight Test

The first Starship flight test of 2025 flew with ambitious goals: seeking to repeat our previous success of launching and catching the world’s most powerful launch vehicle while putting a redesigned and upgraded Starship through a rigorous set of flight...