After one An overview of the concept of architecture2024 updates include NASA revisions. Architecture Definition Document which details the technical methods and processes of the Agency’s exploration plans, an executive review, and 12 new White papers On important topics from Moon to Mars.
“NASA’s architecture concept review process is critical to getting us on the path to landing a human mission to Mars,” said NASA Associate Administrator Jim Frey. “We’re taking a process to map out the decisions we need to make, understand the resource and technology trade-offs, and make sure we’re listening to stakeholder feedback.”
A newly released white paper highlights NASA’s decision to use fission power as the primary source of power to sustain crews on the surface of Mars — among the seven key decisions required for human Mars exploration. First from Fission power is a form of nuclear energy that is not affected by the day-night cycles on Mars or potential dust storms.
New additions this year include a broader priority 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. An initial habitat would place astronauts on the lunar surface to increase crew size, range, and duration of exploration missions and enable crewed and uncrewed science opportunities.
The latest revision of the architecture definition document adds more information about NASA’s decision roadmapping process—how the agency decides which decisions should be made earlier in the planning process than later decisions. Be done based on impact—and list architecture-driven opportunities that technology supports. Development agencies prioritize research into new technologies that will enable Moon-to-Mars architecture.
“Identifying and analyzing high-level architecture decisions is the first step toward realizing a Mars exploration mission,” said Katherine Koerner, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Each annual evaluation cycle as part of our architecture process is moving us closer to ensuring that we have a well-thought-out plan to meet our exploration objectives.”
NASA’s Moon-to-Mars architecture approach includes feedback from US industry, academia, international partners, and the NASA workforce. The agency typically issues a series of technical documents at the end of its annual review cycle, including updates to the Architecture Definition document and white papers that explain frequently raised topics.
Under NASAArtemis campaign, the agency will lay the foundation for long-term scientific exploration on the Moon, land the next American and first international partner astronauts on the lunar surface, and prepare for human missions to Mars for the benefit of all.
For NASA documentation of Mars architecture from the Moon, see:
https://www.nasa.gov/moontomarsarchitecture
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Rachel Croft / Catherine Hambleton
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov/ kathryn.a.hambleton@nasa.gov