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National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration

NASA’S DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION PLANS

www.nasa.gov
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The Artemis era is here, heralding a future of long-term human exploration in deep space. Through Artemis, the United States will lead an international and commercial coalition to advance scientific research, maintain our 

national posture, and inspire a new generation of explorers: the Artemis Generation.

The three pillars of rationale for exploration: science, inspiration, and national posture. 

Investigations in deep space, 

on the Moon, and on Mars will 

enhance our understanding 

of the solar system, Earth, 

the human body, and how to 

perform new operations while 

we are out there exploring.

Accepting audacious 

challenges and 

succeeding through 

perseverance and 

tenacity in the face of 

adversity motivates 

current and future 

generations to dare 

mighty things.

What we choose to do, how 

we do those things, and 

who we do them with greatly 

impacts our place in the 

world today, our quality of 

life, and our possibilities for 

the future.

BENEFITS TO 

HUMANITY

Why We Explore

EXPLORING THE SECRETS 

OF THE MOON AND BEYOND

FOR THE BENEFIT OF HUMANITY

While maintaining American leadership in human and robotic lunar exploration NASA will build a global alliance to 

explore deep space as one. NASA and its partners will explore more of the Moon than ever before with highly trained 

astronauts and advanced robotics. We will collaborate with our partners to establish the first long-term presence on 

the Moon, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet. 

This is America’s Moon to Mars exploration approach. Ultimately, what we build, test, and discover at the Moon will 

determine the human capacity to live and work in deep space for longer periods of time, setting NASA on a steady 

path to send the first astronauts to Mars.
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MOON TO MARS ARCHITECTURE

To successfully achieve a lasting human presence in deep space, NASA strategically prioritizes hardware development 

by beginning with the agency’s widely recognized blueprint for exploration and its supporting Moon to Mars objectives 

that were developed with input from experts across the world. Each objective is decomposed through a systems 

engineering process to arrive at architectural elements, like rockets, spacecraft, rovers, spacesuits, communications 

relays, and more—that will be incrementally developed and delivered to the Moon and Mars for long-term, humanled scientific discovery in deep space. 

The architecture itself is organized by segments that allow NASA to break the architecture down into manageable 

pieces to focus and prioritize its analysis work and coordinate with partners. The architecture segments—Human 

Lunar Return, Foundational Exploration, Sustained Lunar Evolution, and Humans to Mars—are described below.

HUMAN LUNAR RETURN

Initial capabilities, systems, and operations necessary to 

re-establish human presence and initial utilization (e.g., 

science) on and around the Moon.

FOUNDATIONAL EXPLORATION

Expansion of lunar capabilities, systems, and operations 

supporting complex orbital and surface missions to 

conduct utilization (e.g., science) and Mars-forward 

precursor missions. 

SUSTAINED LUNAR EVOLUTION

Enabling capabilities, systems, and operations to support 

regional and global utilization (e.g., science), economic 

opportunity, and a steady cadence of human presence on 

and around the Moon. 

HUMANS TO MARS

Initial capabilities, systems, and operations necessary 

to establish human presence and initial utilization (e.g., 

science) on Mars and continued exploration. 

ARCHITECTURE SEGMENTS
SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM

The Space Launch System (SLS) is an evolvable rocket that 

will provide heavy-lift capability to deliver Orion and its 

crew, supplies, and other payloads safely to the Moon. In 

2022, NASA’s Artemis I flight test successfully demonstrated 

the rocket’s capability to send Orion on a lunar trajectory. 

Future evolutions of SLS will feature a more powerful upper 

stage and larger payload volume to send large elements to 

the Moon, along with Orion and its crew. 

HUMAN 

LUNAR 

RETURN

ORION SPACECRAFT

Orion transports up to four astronauts between Earth and 

lunar orbit and sustains them for up to 21 days. It also provides 

supplemental power and life-support systems to Gateway 

while docked to the lunar space station. 

Orion launches from Earth atop the SLS, as it did in the 

Artemis I flight test, and includes the crew module, service 

module, and launch abort system. 

EXPLORATION GROUND SYSTEMS

Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) provides the ground 

infrastructure to process and launch SLS and Orion, and also 

provides recovery capabilities when Orion returns to Earth. 

EGS uses the Vehicle Assembly Building (shown left) to stack 

and integrate SLS with its payloads, including Orion. 

The Mobile Launcher is another key EGS capability that 

secures the SLS stack for transportation to Launch Pad 39B 

atop the crawler-transporter. The Mobile Launcher will be 

upgraded in future segments to accommodate the evolved 

SLS. 

ELEMENTS

GATEWAY

The Gateway includes several modules that are incrementally 

launched and assembled in lunar orbit. In the Human Lunar Return

segment, the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and Habitation 

and Logistics Outpost (HALO) are launched together, along with 

three science instrument suites on a commercial rocket to the 

near-rectilinear halo orbit. 

I-HAB, the International Habitat provided ESA (European Space 

Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) then joins 

PPE and HALO for additional habitation volume. This segment also 

sees the first Gateway Logistics Module delivery with supplies to outfit 

the station. ESA, JAXA, and the Canadian Space Agency will all 

provide Gateway elements for later segments of the lunar architecture. 4
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HUMAN LANDING SYSTEM

The Human Landing System (HLS) will transport astronauts 

and their cargo between lunar orbit and the surface. Crew 

will board the HLS either from Orion or from Gateway. 

In this segment, HLS provides the habitable volume, 

consumables, and design features to allow crew to conduct 

moonwalks. Later segments will include additional cargo 

delivery options and habitation on the surface. A commercial 

provider has been selected for the Artemis III and Artemis 

IV missions (illustration shown, left). NASA will work with 

multiple providers to procure landers, and, eventually, 

landing services for Artemis V and beyond.

DEEP SPACE LOGISTICS

Deep Space Logistics leads the commercial deep space 

supply chain to transport cargo, payloads, equipment, and 

consumables to enable exploration of the Moon and Mars. 

Logistics flights supply Gateway with critical cargo deliveries 

to maximize the length of crew stays aboard Gateway. 

At least one logistics delivery is anticipated for each 30-day 

Artemis expedition aboard Gateway, and additional 

capabilities may be added in future segments. An illustration 

of a commercial logistics module is shown in the image to 

the left. 

XEVA SYSTEM

The Exploration Extravehicular Activity System (xEVA) 

includes the lunar surface spacesuit, tools, and vehicle 

interface equipment that crew will need to conduct 

moonwalks, collect samples, and deploy science instruments 

and technology demonstrations. 

NASA has two spacesuit providers on contract who can bid 

to provide spacesuits as services to the International Space 

Station or to Artemis missions. 

COMM, POSITIONING, NAVIGATION, TIMING

Communication, Positioning, Navigation, and Timing 

(CPNT) services are provided through a combination of 

assets on Earth, in lunar orbit, and on the lunar surface. On 

Earth, upgrades to the Deep Space Network, and global 

installation of the Lunar Exploration Ground System, will 

provide continuous coverage of the Moon with support from 

systems in lunar orbit, including Gateway and the Lunar 

Communications Relay and Navigation System. 

CPNT capabilities will grow throughout this segment and 

beyond, with opportunity for commercial and international 

partners to provide enhanced or augmented services.

COMMERCIAL LUNAR 

PAYLOAD SERVICES

Through the Commercial 

Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) 

initiative, NASA is acquiring 

services from a provider pool 

of U.S. companies to deliver 

payloads to the lunar surface. 

Although some equipment will 

be delivered to the surface with 

the crew aboard HLS, CLPS 

provides an additional capability 

to deliver cargo and science 

instruments with commercial 

providers, supporting a growing 

lunar economy. NASA’s Science 

Mission Directorate currently 

has more than 40 U.S. and 

international science and technology payloads scheduled to 

be delivered through CLPS 

providers. 
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The evolutionary architecture development process described earlier is methodical and deliberate. NASA’s intention is to foster transparency so that current and future partners can engage in productive discussions about future 

collaborations via available, open-source information and shared expectations and objectives. 

To reach the required level of maturity for segments beyond Human Lunar Return, the process must continue. Through 

subsequent analysis cycles and annual Architecture Concept Reviews, the Moon to Mars architecture will grow more 

defined over time. Implementation of the architecture has already begun for the Human Lunar Return, with elements 

in that segment directly traced to Moon to Mars Objectives. Objectives distillation for Foundational Exploration and 

Sustained Lunar Evolution has also begun, as shown in Appendix A of the Architecture Definition Document. 

The Humans to Mars segment studies center around early human missions to Mars to define key areas that will inform 

long-term investment strategies for the larger architectural components, many of which can find early or prototype 

development in the lunar segments. The ability to identify common systems and operations for both the Moon and 

Mars provides an additional level of confidence for the earliest human missions to the Red Planet. Decisions made 

about the Humans to Mars segment will be updated in future versions of the Architecture Definition Document. 

FOUNDATIONAL EXPLORATION

The Foundational Exploration segment continues using capabilities 

established in Human Lunar Return and initiates new systems to expand 

mission durations and surface exploration range, increasing the 

diversity of scientific sampling and research and prepare for human 

missions to Mars. 

Additions to Gateway and the delivery of habitation and mobility 

elements on the surface will introduce longer mission timelines, 

accommodating more opportunities to conduct an array science and demonstrate new technologies. The extended 

mission durations and co-located assets in orbit and on the surface will help optimize operations to conduct Mars 

mission simulations. Foundational Exploration also will be the starting point for activities and capabilities featured in the 

Sustainable Lunar Evolution segment. 

NASA used the same process applied in Human Lunar Return to distill Moon to Mars Objectives for Foundational Exploration, 

but work remains to map the Functions and Use Cases to specific elements. The general functional capabilities under 

analysis now for the lunar surface include unpressurized mobility, pressurized mobility, surface habitation, and cargo 

transportation. In orbit, Gateway’s capabilities will grow with contributions from international partners. 
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SUSTAINED LUNAR EVOLUTION 

In the Sustained Lunar Evolution segment, NASA aims to build, together 

with its partners, a future of economic opportunity, expanded 

scientific discovery, and greater participation on and around the 

Moon. 

This “open canvas” segment embraces new ideas, systems, and 

partners to grow beyond Foundational Exploration, increasing global 

lunar science capability, making longer stays for more astronauts and 

researchers possible, and leading to the large-scale production of goods and services derived from lunar resources. 

It is premature to determine specific elements for Sustained Lunar Evolution beyond the higher-level capabilities associated 

with the Moon to Mars Objectives. For this segment, the focus is on expanding power generation and storage; using 

lunar resources for propellant; crew consumables; construction materials; and expanding mobility and habitation to 

accommodate larger populations on the lunar surface. 

HUMANS TO MARS

Like the previous two segments, the Use Cases and Functions for 

Humans to Mars have not been fully distilled from the Moon to Mars 

Objectives to arrive at the specific elements needed for the first human 

missions to Mars. 

To support ongoing analysis for Humans to Mars, NASA is studying 

a range of potential mission assumptions to inform system and 

technology concepts. To illustrate the range of potential Mars 

architecture solutions, some representative initial assumptions for the current body of analysis work include, at a 

minimum: 

• A light initial exploration footprint: four crew members to Mars orbit with two crew members descending and 

living on the surface for a 30-sol surface stay;

• Multiple Mars landers, with the first lander(s) pre-deploying cargo to prepare for a later crew landing;

• Modest initial surface infrastructure: minimal surface power and communications infrastructure, but no surface 

habitat; and

• “All-up mission” approach: crew depart Earth with all the transit propellant they need for the round-trip journey, 

meaning no propellant will be harvested on Mars for the crew ascent vehicle for early missions.

These assumptions provide a framework for direct architecture comparisons, and all decisions will be made with 

evolution in mind. More complex mission scenarios will be addressed in subsequent analysis cycles, but the initial step 

is to define a practical approach to achieve the first human missions to Mars. 

The primary Mars systems under study include the transportation system that will carry crew from an orbit in the 

Earth-Moon neighborhood and back; the entry, descent, landing, and ascent system that will land astronauts on the 

surface and return them to Martian orbit; the surface systems that will keep crew healthy and productive, allowing 

them to explore and conduct high-value science on the Red Planet; and the crew support systems that will provide the 

required logistics, food, and health care throughout their round-trip journey. 
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Headquarters

300 Hidden Figures Way SW

Washington, DC 20546

www.nasa.gov/centers/hq

www.nasa.gov