NASA Advisory Council Recommendation 

Use ofDecadal Surveys and Exploration Objectives 

to Set Priorities for the Gateway 

2018-02-01 (HEOC/SC-01) 

Recommendation: 

The Council recommends: 

• For the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Associate Administrator: That the 

science initiatives implemented at the Gateway should be prioritized to align with the 

National Academies' decadal surveys. 

• For the NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) 

Associate Administrator: That the objectives for exploration initiatives enabled by the 

Gateway approach should be clearly articulated by HEOMD to set expectations for all 

stakeholders. 

Major Reasons for the Recommendation: 

The Council applauds the leadership ofHEOMD and SMD for fostering a balance between 

exploration and discovery in the Gateway concept. When communicating about the Gateway 

concept both science and exploration should indeed be emphasized. Clearly articulated 

exploration objectives for the Gateway and reference to science decadal surveys will be critical 

as requirements for the Gateway are developed in order to set expectations for all Gateway 

stakeholders and prioritize future Gateway science activity. 

Consequences of No Action on This Recommendation: 

Failure to articulate exploration objectives and science priorities for the Gateway could result in 

confusion amongst stakeholders and unnecessarily decrease the effectiveness of a major NASA 

initiative. 

NASA Response: 

NASA concurs with the NAC recommendation. 

Gateway Science Priorities 

Transformational science from, near or of the Moon only can occur if initiatives at the Gateway 

align with the astrophysics, Earth science, heliophysics and planetary science decadal surveys 

(DSs) produced by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM). 

Once each decade, NASA and its partners ask the NASEM to look out 10 or more years into the 

future and prioritize research areas and observations. NASA then conducts a detailed evaluation 

of the technical and scientific maturities attendant to the DS priorities, as well as the near-, mid-, 

and long-term costs and benefits to the nation. 

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Set timetables of the DSs do not limit discourse and decision-making by the Agency, as NASEM 

and NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) closely coordinate and engage in iterative 

discussions. NASEM will issue the planetary science and astrophysics DSs in the early 2020s. 

For the planetary science DS, discussions are underway between SMD and the NASEM to 

ensure that key science of the Moon advanced studies could be performed in areas that the 

community identifies. The Earth science DS was received by NASA in December 2017, and the 

Agency is examining and implementing those priorities with broad stakeholder involvement. The 

heliophysics mid-term review (mid-way between DSs) currently is in work by NASEM. 

NASA SMD has begun integrating a cross-discipline approach to science from, near or of the 

Moon with consideration of science opportunities in cis- lunar space, low lunar orbit, and surface 

operations. Looking across disciplines, a number of science activities could be considered 

transformational: 1) establish the period of giant planet migration in the Solar System, 2) provide 

an absolute chronology for Solar System events, 3) use the lunar far side to view the universe, 4) 

discover and understand the sources of lunar water and the water cycle, 5) characterize the nature 

of the lunar interior, and 6) evaluate plasma interactions with the lunar surface. A white paper on 

these scientific areas has been provided by the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual 

Institute (SSERVI) at NASA's request. Other foundational works to inform this effort include (1) 

the Scientific Context for the Exploration of the Moon (SCEM) (2007) by the National Research 

Council, and (2) Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) Specific Action Teams (SATs) 

reports from teams focused on Advancing Science of the Moon (ASM-SAT) and Next Steps on 

the Moon (NEXT-SAT), found at https://www.l pi.usra.edu/lea g/reports.shtml . 

NASA also has convened and engaged in numerous fora to allow scientific community-driven 

priorities for transformational science to emerge: 

• NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA held the Lunar Science for Landed 

Missions Workshop January 10-12, co-chaired by the LEAG and SSERVI. The talks and 

resulting reports detailing excellent science to be done at every step are archived here: 

https://lunar-landin g.arc.nasa. gov/. Landed lunar science priorities and proposed 

destinations are invaluable inputs for Gateway development as it is to be a versatile 

outpost supporting both human and robotic scientific missions on and around the Moon. 

It is envisioned that the Gateway could support small landers, and in addition maintain 

position or move between lunar orbits over its lifetime to maximize science operations. 

Robotically collecting lunar samples for investigation aboard the Gateway for 

safekeeping until they·can be returned to Earth could be another capability. 

• NASA, the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) and Universities Space Research 

Association (USRA) held the Deep Space Gateway Concept Science Workshop on 

February 27 - March 1 in Denver, CO, with approximately 300 attendees and 180 talks 

presented. Discussions focused on cross-discipline science priorities and the 

infrastructure and instruments the Gateway would need to provide to facilitate different 

types of investigations. 

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• European, Japanese, and Canadian space agencies have held science meetings regarding 

the Gateway, and NASA is sharing data with these partners. These agencies, and others, 

are participating in the Gateway design and development process. 

Gateway Exploration Objectives 

NASA agrees the exploration objectives enabled by the Gateway should be clearly defined and 

documented to provide stakeholders with a common set of Gateway expectations for science and 

exploration of the cislunar environment. 

The HEOMD has created a single document with the goal of capturing exploration objectives 

and tracing the Gateway objectives directly from the NASA Strategic Plan to facilitate 

communication and define expectations for the exploration architecture. 

The tracing to the Gateway exploration objectives starts at the 2018 NASA Strategic Plan's 

Stategic Goal #2 which states to: Extend Human Presence Deeper into Space and to the Moon 

for sustainable long-term exploration and utilization. 

The Strategic Plan identifies two supporting Objectives assigned to HEOMD in support of this 

goal: 

Strategic Objective 2.1: Lay the foundation for America to maintain a constant human presence 

in low Earth orbit enabled by a commercial market. 

Strategic Objective 2.2: Conduct human exploration in deep space, including to the surface of the 

moon. 

These two NASA objectives were assessed against the NASA Exploration Campaign by the 

HEOMD engineering and science teams and were then broken down into 60 HEOMD 

Exploration Objectives specifying unique spaceflight systems tests, demonstrations and 

capabilities. and further grouped between the exploration Phase O (ISS testing) , Phase 1 

(Cislunar Demonstration of Exploration Systems) and Phase 2 (Cislunar Validation of 

Exploration Systems). The 60 objectives are found in HEOMD-001 Human Exploration and 

Operations Exploration Objectives , with the Tables 6.3, 6.4 and 6.5 reproduced below. 

HEOMD-001 is undergoing a review and will be ll:Pdated to include lunar exploration goals. 

NASA has defined the National Exploration Campaign to include the following five strategic 

goals: 

1. Transition U.S. human spaceflight in LEO to commercial operations that support NASA 

and the needs of an emerging commercial economy. 

2. Lead the emplacement of capabilities that support lunar surface operations and facilitate 

missions beyond cislunar space. 

3. Foster scientific discovery and characterization oflunar resources through a series of 

robotic missions. 

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4. Return U.S. astronauts to the surface of the Moon for a sustained campaign of exploration 

and utilization. 

5. Demonstrate on the Moon the capabilities required for human missions to Mars and other 

destinations. 

The Gateway addresses goals 2-5. The Gateway will be used as a platform to accommodate 

robotic cargo landers to and from the surface of the Moon with the ability to configure payloads, 

control and relay communications for surface missions, and potentially handle samples returned 

from the surface as well as refurbishing of robotic landers. Gateway will serve as a hub for lunar 

transportation of crew to the surface of the Moon and serve as a deep space port for refurbishing, 

refueling, and reusing those surface systems. These activities at the Gateway are of the same 

type that will be used to support future Mars missions as those vehicles will be aggregated and 

refueled at the Gateway. 

In addition, the following Gateway objectives have been established. These objectives can be 

traced back to the HEOMD-001 Exploration Objectives and the National Exploration Campaign 

strategic goals. 

• The Gateway shall be utilized to enable human crewed missions to cislunar space 

including capabilities that enable surface missions. (Crewed Missions) 

• The Gateway shall provide capabilities to assist in meeting scientific requirements for 

lunar discovery and exploration, as well as other science objectives. (Science 

Requirements) 

• The Gateway shall be utilized to enable, demonstrate and prove technologies that are 

enabling for Lunar missions and that feed forward to Mars as well as other deep space 

destinations. (Proving Ground & Technology Demonstration) 

• NASA shall establish industry and international partnerships to develop and operate the 

Gateway. (Partnerships) 

To expand on these objectives, the following categories have been defined to describe the types 

of activities that will be accomplished at or with the Gateway to enable a sustained presence 

around and on the Moon and to develop and deploy critical infrastructure required for operations 

on the lunar surface and at other deep space destinations. 

Activity Type Descri ption 

Exploration Testing 

and Operations 

Demonstrate capabilities and associated technologies at the Gateway 

along with integrated testing of these capabilities and technologies. 

Demonstrate operational procedures and risk mitigation plans for 

beyond LEO exploration risks. 

Supporting Crewed 

Missions 

Demonstrate capabilities associated with support of crewed missions 

on Gatewa y. 

Human System 

Integration in Deep 

Space 

Execute the approach to characterize and mitigate the integrated 

human health and performance risks associated with humans living 

and workin g in deep space during an 1100-day Mars mission. 

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Gateway Enabled 

Science 

Perform science by using Gateway resources and capabilities. This 

includes both internal and externally mounted experiments. It includes 

science instruments deployed from the Gateway. 

Support of Robotic 

Missions 

Provide accommodations for delivery, aggregation, & teleoperation of 

robotic assets including possible sample return from the Moon & other 

bodies, communications infrastructure to small satellites, satellite 

deployment, and using the Gateway to support servicing/construction 

of large telesco pes. 

Support of 

International Partner 

Missions 

Support international partner missions in cislunar space by making 

available Gateway resources and capabilities. 

Support of 

Commercial Partner 

Missions 

Support private sector/commercial partner missions in cislunar space 

by making available Gateway resources and capabilities. 

The HEOMD-001 Phase 1 Exploration Objectives are shown for reference below. 

HEOMD-001 TABLE 6.4 PHASE 1 OBJECTIVES (P1) 

Objective 

Identifier Objective Objective Category 

P1-01 Demonstrate SLS Block 1 elements in flight and integrated 

performance with Orion Transportation 

P1-02 Demonstrate Block 1 B trans-lunar injection (TLI} performance, 

includino co-manifested ca pability Transportation 

P1-03 Demonstrate Orion's abilit y to support crew in deep space Trans portation 

P1-04 

Demonstrate Orion's ability in conjunction with additional 

habitation element(s} to support missions with at least 4-Crew 

for a minimum of 30 days 

Transportation 

P1-05 

Demonstrate operation of deep space exploration-class 

propulsion to support on-orbit maintenance, cislunar transfers, 

and in-space refuelin g 

Transportation 

P1-06 Demonstrate ability to stage habitation and other capabilities 

in dee p space for later utilization Transportation 

P1-07 Demonstrate ability for crewed rendezvous and operation with 

a oreviousl v staoed element (s) Transportation 

P1-08 Demonstrate autonomous rendezvous, proximity operations, 

and docking in deep space Transportation 

P1-09 Demonstrate ability to dispose of assets from deep space Trans oortation 

P1-10 Demonstrate deep space crewed operations up to Mars 

communications latenc y Working in Space 

P1-11 Validate ability to conduct EVA in deep space Working in Space 

P1-12 

Validate integrated radiation risk mitigation ability to provide 

As Low As Reasonably Acceptable (ALARA} exposure, 

includin o monitorin o, mifa::iation and operational strate gies 

Working in Space 

P1-13 Demonstrate transition between crewed and uncrewed 

operations Working in Space 

s 
P1-14 Demonstrate human/robotic interactions in deep space Working in Space 

P1-15 Demonstrate stowage strategies within available volume for 

deep space missions Working in Space 

P1-16 Demonstrate the collection and return of biological and/or 

scientific samples includinq planeta ry protection protocols Working in Space 

P1-17 

Evaluate the nature and distribution of lunar volatiles and 

extraction techniques and decide on their potential use in 

human exploration architectures to inform future ISRU 

develo oment 

Working in Space 

P1-18 

Enable science community objectives .in deep space, 

including addressing HEOMD's strategic knowledge gaps in 

the lunar vicinitv 

Working in Space 

P1-19 Enable commercial and international partnership objectives in 

deep space Working in Space 

P1-20 

Demonstrate ability to use systems in cislunar space to 

enable science, technology, and exploration while in an 

uncrewed state. Enable commercial and international 

partnership obiectives in deep soace 

Working in Space 

P1-21 Demonstrate/evaluate exploration medical capabilities Sta yinQ Health y 

P1-22 Demonstrate/evaluate human flight operations crew 

phvsioloqical well-bein g in deep space Staying Healthy 

P1-23 Demonstrate/evaluate human flight operations crew 

psychological well-bein g in deep space Staying Healthy 

P1-24 Demonstrate/evaluate human health countermeasures Sta ying Health y 

P1-25 Evaluate the effects of deep space on complex organisms , 

plants food, pharmaceuticals, and animal models Staying Healthy 

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